Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has suffered a major blow as five sheriff’s offices have made cooperation agreements with federal immigration authorities.
Newsweek has contacted the office of Governor Walz for further comment via email.
Why It Matters
The move by law enforcement aligns with President Donald Trump‘s hard-line immigration agenda as his administration looks to remove millions of immigrants who have no legal status in the U.S. Immigration policy continues to be a source of deep division, as local law enforcement agencies take varied positions in cooperating with federal authorities. While some counties have chosen to collaborate fully with ICE, others, enforce sanctuary policies, which limits cooperation. Meanwhile, Walz, who was Kamala Harris‘ running mate, lost the presidential election to the Trump-JD Vance ticket. Immigration played a key role in the 2024 election.
What To Know
Governor Walz supports sanctuary policies that limit cooperation between local law enforcement and immigration authorities.
In early 2023, Walz expanded driver’s licenses to all residents in Minnesota, regardless of their immigration status. It was estimated that around 81,000 undocumented migrants would benefit from the bill, which allowed them to apply for a state-issued ID card.
“My position on Minnesota becoming a sanctuary state boils down to who has the responsibility for enforcing immigration laws. Here’s what I believe: Congress has given federal agencies the authority to enforce immigration laws in Minnesota, and I support their doing so. Congress has not given local law enforcement that same authority. The role of law enforcement is to enforce state and local laws, not federal immigration laws, and I strongly believe that they should not do,” Walz said in 2019.
Since Trump took office, the sheriff’s offices in Minnesota’s Cass, Crow Wing, Freeborn, Itasca, and Jackson counties have entered into 287(g) agreements with ICE. These agreements allow the federal immigration agency to delegate certain immigration enforcement responsibilities to local law enforcement, according to a report by the Sahan Journal, a nonprofit digital newsroom reporting for immigrants and communities of color in Minnesota.
The agreements facilitate greater cooperation between local law enforcement agencies and ICE, including programs aimed at identifying and processing undocumented immigrants already in custody who are eligible for deportation. Another program employs a “task force model,” where local agencies act as a “force multiplier” for ICE, per the report.
The recent agreements signed by the five sheriff’s offices with ICE bring the total number of offices participating in the 287(g) program in Minnesota to seven, according to the Sahan Journal. These new counties join Sherburne and Kandiyohi counties, which have had cooperation agreements with ICE for some time.
Local police officers who have been “deputized” are granted the authority to enforce federal immigration laws. This usually occurs through programs like 287(g), where local law enforcement collaborates with federal immigration agencies to carry out immigration enforcement activities. As a result, this partnership can lead to more coordinated sweeps and enforcement actions in communities across cities and towns.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has expressed concerns about local law enforcement’s involvement in federal immigration enforcement,
What People Are Saying
A spokesperson for Ellison’s office told the Sahan Journal: “While 287g agreements are sometimes touted as a tool for getting violent offenders off the street, studies have shown that large numbers of people detained through 287g-related enforcement have committed only misdemeanors or traffic violations.”
What Happens Next
As the 287(g) agreements continue to expand across Minnesota, local law enforcement agencies will likely face increasing pressure from both advocates and critics of the program.
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