DHS ramps up immigration enforcement in Minneapolis as secretary posts video of arrest

Department of Homeland Security officials have stepped up immigration enforcement in the Minneapolis area in recent days, and Secretary Kristi Noem posted a video showing an arrest in the city. The video depicted Ms. Noem and several law enforcement officers entering a building and taking a man into custody.

In a social media post Ms. Noem wrote, "Just arrested this criminal illegal alien from Ecuador who has an active warrant for murder and sexual assault in Ecuador." No confirmation of her assertions was immediately provided, and the agency did not respond to requests for details about the operation.

The department also posted "GOOD MORNING MINNEAPOLIS!" on social media. A photograph accompanying coverage showed a traffic stop in Minneapolis on Monday; no one was detained. The department launched an intensive enforcement operation in the Minneapolis–St. Paul region last month, primarily targeting hundreds of undocumented Somali immigrants, an official with knowledge of the operation and documents obtained by The New York Times said.

The administration has focused attention on Minnesota after an investigation into accusations of fraud in a Covid-19 program and other safety-net programs administered by Gov. Tim Walz's administration; federal prosecutors have asserted that as much as $9 billion might have been stolen, and more than 90 people have been charged with felonies, most of them of Somali origin.

Key Topics

Politics, Kristi Noem, Homeland Security, Minneapolis, Somali Immigrants, Tim Walz