U.S. Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino criticized Minnesota elected officials and community members Tuesday, saying they’re making it “difficult” for federal immigration agents to do their work.
Bovino and Marcos Charles, executive associate director of enforcement removal operations for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), accused Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey of using rhetoric that intensifies what they described as “violence” against immigration officers.
“It’s that collusion and corruption between elected officials and these anarchists that are intent on creating violence for law enforcement,” Bovino said at a news conference held Tuesday at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, which houses ICE offices and immigration court.
Bovino’s remarks come as national news outlets report that federal prosecutors issued subpoenas to Gov. Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey as part of an investigation started over the weekend by the U.S. Department of Justice.
The investigation is looking into whether Minnesota elected officials impeded federal immigration enforcement, according to CBS News.
Bovino said he’s lost count of the number of violent incidents committed against immigration officers in Minnesota. Despite that, he said, federal enforcement “continued unabated.” Charles said agents made 113 arrests in Minnesota over the past few days.
The crackdown in Minnesota, which started back in December, has led to multiple reports of excessive use-of-force, arrests of U.S. citizens, break-ins into homes without warrants and a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota. In one week, federal agents were involved in two shootings, killing Renee Nicole Macklin Good on Jan.7 and wounding Julio Cesar Sosa Celis in the leg on Jan. 14.
Three Minnesota law enforcement leaders — Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley, Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt and St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry — held a news conference earlier Tuesday accusing a “small group” of federal agents of racially profiling local off-duty police officers and community members. Witt described some of the agents’ conduct as “questionable and unethical.”
They called on officials in Washington D.C. to fix the situation, noting that federal agents were eroding trust with the public and seemed uncoordinated in their efforts.
Bovino defended the federal agents.
“Everything that we do every day is legal, ethical, moral and well-grounded in law,” he said, referring to statements made by the Minnesota police leaders.
Bovino said federal immigration authorities have arrested more than 10,000 people in Minnesota since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term last January. Sahan Journal has not been able to verify the claims.
Operation Metro Surge began in December targeting immigration federal enforcement in Minnesota, ramping up arrests and has expanded over the past few months. About 2,000 to 3,000 federal immigration officers have been reportedly deployed to Minnesota.
“We will continue making arrests, and we will continue working to keep Minneapolis safe,” Bovino said.
Charles said ICE has requested that more than 1,360 people currently held in Minnesota jails and prisons for other offenses be turned over to the federal government on immigration violations. He called on Walz and Frey to turn them into federal custody.
