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JSul3 Immigration and Customs Enforcement accused Minnesota on Tuesday of harboring illegal immigrants with criminal histories after local and state authorities ignored the federal agency's requests to hand over more than 1,360 people in its jails.
ICE acting Executive Associate Director for Enforcement and Removal Operations Marcos Charles said the federal government has repeatedly attempted to work with the state to apprehend illegal immigrants in safe settings as opposed to on the street, but the blue state has declined its requests.
"ICE currently has more than 1,360 immigration detainers on illegal aliens in Minnesota jails and prisons, and we're calling on [Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN)] and [Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey] to turn these criminal illegal aliens directly over to ICE to keep Minnesota residents in our community safe," Charles said during a press conference in Minneapolis on Tuesday afternoon.
Of that number, 500 illegal immigrants have previously been ordered deported by a federal immigration judge, meaning a judge has found they had no legal standing to remain in the country and are not a valid asylum-seeker, in the cases where the illegal immigrants sought refuge.
Since ICE, as well as Border Patrol and other federal law enforcement agencies, dispatched thousands of personnel into Minneapolis earlier this month, they have arrested 3,000 people, including 113 over the past weekend.