The White House on Monday laid out conditions it says Minnesota and local leaders should comply with for federal officers to be withdrawn from the state, amid growing scrutiny of the administration’s expanded immigration enforcement presence.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Customs and Border Protection officers would no longer be needed if state and local officials agree to a series of cooperation measures.
Leavitt said the administration is demanding that Minnesota and local leaders first turn over all undocumented immigrants with criminal convictions who are currently held in state prisons and jails, as well as undocumented immigrants with active warrants and known criminal histories, to federal authorities for deportation.
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She said state and local law enforcement should also turn over all undocumented immigrants arrested by local police.
In addition, Leavitt said local police must assist federal law enforcement in locating, apprehending and detaining undocumented immigrants who are wanted for crimes, particularly violent offenses.
Walz previously addressed a similar request from Attorney General Pam Bondi, saying Minnesota is already doing much of what the federal government is requesting.
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During Monday’s White House press briefing, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump wants officials to let a full investigation play out before drawing conclusions about the fatal shooting of U.S. citizen Alex Pretti, who was killed by a federal agent Saturday during ongoing immigration enforcement in Minneapolis.
Her remarks marked a more tempered tone from earlier comments by White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, who on social media called Pretti a “would-be assassin,” and by Homeland Security officials, who portrayed Pretti as a violent threat.
