ST. PAUL, Minn. — Governor Tim Walz called for ICE deportation agents to be disciplined for wrongful manhandling of U.S. citizens. In a letter to Kristi Noem, the US. homeland security chief, Walz said her agents have been making rogue arrests in their Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis. Ostensibly the ICE deportation sweeps are aimed at “the worst of the worst” illegal immigrants, but Walz cited citizen videos of other people being hauled away. Some were merely filming ICE activities while others were just going about their daily lives, Walz said. He wrote:
“Residents who document law-enforcement activity, including immigration enforcement, play an essential role in transparency, accountably, and safeguarding the civil liberties of all in Minnesota, Detaining citizens for exercising these rights sends a deeply disturbing signal about how those very rights are being eroded.”
At minimum, Walz said, ICE agents caught on tape engaging in brutish, bullying excesses should be put on administrative leave until their behavior is investigated.