MINNEAPOLIS — President Trump’s chief deportation director, Kristi Noem, swept into Minneapolis with what was seen as both as a promise and a threat: Expect more ICE agents, more arrests and more deportations. “You’ll see dozens of new agents and federal officers here doing the work to get these criminals and terrorists off of our streets,” Noem said at news conference at the heavily fortified Whipple federal building. She spoke in front of a table filled with drugs and guns that she said were all seized in the area since January. Noem was asked by a news reporter if she was in Minnesota to soften up the state for a military invasion, perhaps using state National Guard soldiers as Trump has dion in Los Angeles and other Democrat-leaning cities. Noem was evasive. That, she said, is a decision for President Trump to make. Noem is the former governor of South Dakota. She was appointed by Trump as his homeland security cabinet member in January. Noem used her Minneapolis forum to bad-mouth and uncut public support for elected leadership in the state. Her acknowledged her goal was to build partnerships with smaller towns and sheriffs for more detention space for immigrants, noting that state-level officials were refusing to cooperate:
> On Governor Tim Walz, a Democrat: “I don’t know how he sleeps at night,” said Noem, noting that Trump once called likened Trump’s ICE to Gestapo, the Adolph Hitler storm troopers in Nazi Germany. It was unstated by Noem that armed and masked ICE agents have stalked and ambushed people and taken them away, in many cases without respect for American due process.
> On Minneapolis Mayor Jacib Frey, a Democrat. He has allowed crime to grow, Noem said: “Under the leadership of Mayor Frey, under the leadership of Governor Walz, more violent crimes are being perpetuated in these communities.” Fact check: FBI statistics violent crimes in Minnesota, like homicide, assault and robbery, have been trending downward for five years.
> On St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, a Democrat. She called him soft on criminal immigrants.
Noem arrived in Minnesota with statistics. In the first 10 months of the current Trump presidency, she said, 4,300 undocumented immigrants have been either detained or deported. Of that number, she said, 3,300 had a previous criminal history. Noem seemed oblivious that her own data supported a point by Trump detractors about excessive ICE patterns. Do her math: There were 1,000 Minnesota arrests of people with only minor offenses or none at all. At the news conference, Noel spoke in front of a table full of drugs and guns that she said were seized in the state since January.
Earlier: St. Paul mayor: Our cops don’t wear masks
Earlier: Trump to Minnesota: Bow to ICE raids or else
Earlier: Walz berated as enemy of Trump deportations
Earlier: Trump takes down his sanctuary allegations
Earlier: Trump sees sanctuary sites all over Minnesota
Earlier: Walz on Trump deportation practices: They’re Gestapo
Noem. U.S. homeland security secretary since January. A Trump loyalist. Lacking experience in immigration and customs law.
Verbatim
Noem: “I’m here today to ask all of the people in Minnesota, all of the people in the Midwest and across the country, to support your law enforcement officers. Support them and protect them as they go out there and do their jobs. Each and every one of them took an oath to support and defend this country, defend their communities and to protect people. That’s what they are doing every day when they go out and enforce the law.”
Noem over extrapolates
Ahead of her Minnesota visit, Noem’s publicity office in Washington released a list of serious criminals who had been arrested by ICE agents in Minnesota. Unstated but suggested was that they were typical of 4,300 ICE detainees in recent months. Also unstated was that all had been duly prosecuted by state and local officials. Each was listed with an unflattering mug shot.
> Francisco Javier Garcia-Olivar (from Mexico), convicted of child sodomy of a child and failure to appear in court traffic offense.
> Jose Ruben Gomez Munoz (Mexico), sex assault, incest with a minor.
> Humberto Us-Juarez (Guatemala), convicted of molestation of a minor, aggravated felony sex assault.
> Jose Israel Hernandez Rivas (El Salvador), human slavery or sex trafficking.
> Manuel Betancourt-Renteria (Mexico), assault, possession of meth and marijuana, larceny, traffic offenses, driving drunk.
> Nicolas Lopez Juarez (Guatemala), aggravated assault with a weapon, driving drunk, obstructing police.
> Juan Alejo-Alejo (Mexico), homicide by reckless driving, driving drunk.
> David Antonio Gonzalez Rivas (El Salvador), drug possession, assault, theft, fleeing police.
> Pedro Cortez Soriano (Mexico), criminal vehicular homicide, driving drunk.