Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who’s keen on performatively demanding that sworn federal brokers implementing duly enacted nationwide immigration legal guidelines ought to “get the f*** out” of his metropolis, whereas issuing no such directives to legal unlawful immigrants, appeared on Fox & Friends this month and made an attention-grabbing assertion.
When confronted with an instance of how “sanctuary” insurance policies contributed to the useless demise of certainly one of his constituents, at the fingers of an unlawful immigrant drunk driver, Frey recommended that his administration isn’t against cooperating with the feds below sure circumstances. “We are willing to work with people when it’s about murder and when it’s about crime. But the truth is that this ain’t about that,” he claimed. Oh, actually? The Department of Homeland Security has launched a rising roster of the hardened, violent criminals, together with convicted murderers, rapists, and gang members, who’ve been picked up off the avenue by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers throughout the present Minnesota surge. It may be very a lot about crime.
Sanctuary insurance policies, equivalent to these instituted in higher Minneapolis, expressly prohibit native or state authorities from collaborating with federal immigration enforcement, which regularly takes the type of ignoring or rejecting so-called ICE detainer requests. In a sane world, this might be a proactive two-way avenue. Whenever an unlawful immigrant is arrested or is about to be launched from jail or jail, community-based police would give a heads-up to ICE, whose officers would execute an orderly switch of custody in a managed atmosphere. And when ICE lodges detainer requests from its facet, these could be honored as a matter after all. If the arrestees or detainees in query have legal convictions or last deportation orders towards them, they’re promptly deported. If a bit extra due course of is required in different circumstances, so be it.
Anti-ICE protest scenes from Minneapolis, clockwise from high left: Federal legislation enforcement officers are confronted by protesters following a capturing, Jan. 15, 2026; a protester covers a tear fuel canister deployed by ICE officers, Jan. 13, 2026; a protester is pinned to the floor by federal brokers and a chemical irritant sprayed into his face, Jan. 21, 2026; and a protester stands in entrance of an ICE car close to the place protester Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE officer, Jan. 13, 2026. (Clockwise from high left: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg/Getty; John Locher/AP; Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Minnesota Star Tribune/Getty; John Locher/AP)
This could be a rational and wise means for the system to work — and in many elements of the nation, it’s precisely how the system does work. Law enforcement businesses assist one another out, federal authority is revered, and public security threats are neutralized. But in left-wing “sanctuary” jurisdictions, mandated noncooperation results in harmful criminals with no authorized proper to stay in the United States being spit again out onto the streets to stroll free. This occurs routinely and continually. ICE is focusing on its avenue operations in these blue cities and states as a direct results of this phenomenon. Politicians refuse to help in going about issues the straightforward means, so ICE is pressured to go about it the arduous means, which is made riskier and extra sophisticated by vigilante mobs stalking and harassing them at each alternative, egged on by lots of the similar politicians whose insurance policies necessitate public-facing enforcement actions.
This actuality presents a political alternative for President Donald Trump. His border safety strikes have all however shut down the influx of unlawful immigration, a masterstroke that Democrats cynically and falsely insisted couldn’t be achieved. He proved them flawed in a matter of weeks. The public likes what it sees on that entrance, and it doesn’t appear coincidental that after successfully plugging the gaping gap at our southern border, homicides and drug overdoses have plummeted. This is an actual and significant achievement. Trump additionally overtly campaigned, and gained, on mass deportations, so the undeniable fact that his administration is pursuing precisely that plan of action shouldn’t come as a shock to anybody. It’s value remembering that, in response to authorities knowledge reported by the Washington Examiner, roughly 70% of unlawful immigrants arrested by ICE below the Trump administration in 2025 had a legal historical past inside the U.S. An spectacular batting common.
That stated, disruptions attributable to aggressive inside enforcement are stirring misgivings amongst the wider inhabitants. Many individuals like the thought of deporting unlawful immigrant criminals, however conducting that important aim in actuality is a messy and troublesome course of. Couple that with the regular drumbeat of hyperbole and propaganda from anti-enforcement politicians, activists, and journalists, and a few voters are turning towards ICE’s work. Axios reported that administration officers “recently reviewed private GOP polling that showed support for his immigration policies falling. The results, reflected in public surveys, bolstered internal concern about the administration’s confrontational enforcement tactics.” Progressive pollster David Shor revealed that message testing reveals that a few of Democrats’ demagoguery is having an influence, particularly the declare that paying for harsh ICE operations is coming at the expense of funding healthcare. That’s a specious argument, however Democrats equivalent to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) are operating with it.
A Manhattan protest in which some 50 activists have been arrested for trying to dam the driveway of a federal immigration court docket, Sept. 18, 2025. (Erik McGregor /LightRocket/Getty)
How can pro-enforcement forces and the Trump administration flip the tide again in favor of rounding up and deporting legal unlawful immigrants, the idea of which continues to get pleasure from sky-high help in polling? Let’s revisit the aforementioned political opening for Trump. Conservative commentator Mary Katharine Ham just lately posited that the president would possibly think about taking a look at this second not as a possibility to combat, however as an opportunity to make a deal. The discount, in essence, could be an abandonment of lawless sanctuary insurance policies by native and state Democrats in change for “ICE reform” from the feds, which means drastically lowered avenue operations — focused actions for particular and compelling causes would stay on the desk — and elevated coaching for brand new recruits. It is just like what border czar Tom Homan just lately proposed in Minnesota. In quick, it calls Frey et al.’s bluff. They prefer to say they’re prepared to work with the feds on the legal facet of immigration enforcement, as a result of the polling is unambiguous on this level, however their precise insurance policies show in any other case. That’s why they both merely lie about their stance or combine in weasel phrases amid tough-sounding discuss, constructing in excuses to proceed rebuffing ICE detainer requests.
Trump can use his bully pulpit to chop via this pro-illegal-immigrant obfuscation and avoidance by making his supply in a splashy and headline-grabbing setting. Frame it as a serious compromise, although it’s actually simply asking Democrats to retreat from their harmful anti-cooperation posture. If Trump have been to make the following argument, particularly wrapped in the language of bipartisanship and conciliation, which admittedly don’t at all times come naturally to him, Democrats may discover themselves in a bind:
“The American individuals elected me to close down illegal immigration at the southern border, and we’ve got gotten that completed. Critics stated it couldn’t be completed, and we’ve confirmed them flawed. Homicides and deadly drug poisonings have plummeted ever since we lastly regained management over the mess we inherited. Voters additionally requested us to take away giant numbers of unlawful immigrants from the nation. We are in the technique of finishing up their will on that, too, though it is rather troublesome work. Thanks to the tireless efforts of federal legislation enforcement, a whole bunch of 1000’s of unlawful immigrants with legal information in the United States have been faraway from our nation. Nearly 2 million unlawful immigrants have additionally voluntarily left the nation since I took workplace, incentivized by our insurance policies. This is necessary progress, however there’s way more work to do. ICE avenue operations towards unlawful immigrant felons are harmful. They are made much more harmful by radical mobs chasing round federal officers and trying to disrupt their work. It is in America’s public security and nationwide safety pursuits to proceed to get these targets off of our streets, whereas additionally minimizing the variety of public incidents which have understandably made lots of our residents uncomfortable. This isn’t comfy work.
“Which is why I’m making a good-faith offer to Democrats who run cities and states that have been intentionally obstructing immigration enforcement. It’s simple and straightforward: If you instruct your local and state police to hand over illegal immigrants who’ve already been detained or incarcerated to our officers inside courthouses, jails, and prisons, my administration will commit to dramatically reducing ICE operations in the streets. ICE will pull back because there will be far less reason for them to be in those streets. Criminal handoffs from one law enforcement agency to another in a controlled and orderly setting are far preferable to sending our brave men and women into harm’s way to track these people down in public. A significant reduction in street operations will also allow for longer and more thorough training processes for new recruits, who’ve been brought on due to the scope and scale of the problem we were left by the previous administration’s open border and anti-enforcement recklessness. I repeat: If Democrats soften their “sanctuary” insurance policies that shield and assist harbor even convicted violent legal unlawful immigrants, we’ll soften our avenue enforcement operations and improve coaching for brand new officers. It’s an inexpensive compromise. All Democrats must say is ‘yes.’”
ARRESTS OF VIOLENT FELONS DEMONSTRATE ICE’S VALUABLE WORK IN MINNESOTA
That feels like an inexpensive place to land as a result of it’s a affordable place to land. Sanctuary insurance policies are profoundly unreasonable. They’re additionally indefensible to the overwhelming majority of voters throughout the nation, particularly when the case is introduced in easy and commonsense phrases. If some Democrats are on the lookout for an off-ramp and actually need to finish or tremendously reduce ugly, public confrontations and conflicts, they can agree to those phrases.
If others proceed to decide on to prioritize “resistance” over sound coverage and public security, Trump and staff ought to a minimum of make that call extra politically painful and embarrassing. Make a giant present of the “offer.” Then drive the resistance crowd to elucidate why they gained’t take “yes” for a solution, particularly amid their loud complaints about “invasions,” “occupations,” “chaos,” and the like. Their arguments are weak. Shine a highlight on them.
Guy Benson is a senior columnist for the Washington Examiner.
