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Tim Walz accuses Trump of 'organized brutality' in immigration crackdown, says ICE tactics are 'un-American'
By Hanna Panreck
Published January 27, 2026
Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., called President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement tactics via ICE "un-American," in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal Monday, rebuking some of the administration's claims.
In an op-ed headlined "The Un-American Assault on Minnesota," Walz wrote, "The Trump administration’s assault on Minnesota long ago stopped being a matter of immigration enforcement. It is a campaign of organized brutality against the people of our state. It isn’t just. It isn’t legal. And, critically, it isn’t making anyone any safer."
The op-ed comes after a second fatal shooting in Minneapolis over the weekend. A Border Patrol agent fatally shot Alex Pretti during an immigrations enforcement operation.
"Everyone wants to see our immigration laws enforced. That isn’t what is happening in Minnesota. In recent weeks, masked agents have abducted children. They have separated children from their parents. They have racially profiled off-duty police officers. They have aggressively pulled people over and demanded to see their papers. They have broken into the homes of elderly citizens without warrants to drag them outside in freezing temperatures."
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and President Donald Trump (Christopher Mark Juhn/Anadolu via Getty Images; Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Walz rebuked claims from the administration with regard to the number of non-citizen prisoners and those the administration has said have been arrested in conducting operations in Minneapolis.
"This week, ICE tweeted that rural Cottonwood County had refused to honor a detainer for an alleged child sex predator. That’s not true. The county sheriff followed procedure and contacted ICE when the subject posted bail, but ICE agents were too busy wreaking havoc in the Twin Cities to do their actual job and pick the prisoner up," Walz said.
Walz appears to be referring to this post on X.
Fox News Digital also reached out to ICE for comment, but did not immediately hear back.
"President Trump wants to work with local leaders to remove the worst of the worst from American communities. In Minnesota, ICE has arrested rapists, drug traffickers, domestic abusers, and more, despite Democrat opposition. Tim Walz, Jacob Frey, and Democrat leaders in Minnesota have done nothing but turn up the temperature and smear ICE officers – all in defense of criminal illegal aliens. Walz and Frey should work with the Trump Administration to get these dangerous criminals off their streets," White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital in a statement.
Walz took aim at ICE tactics in the op-ed and said he appealed to Trump to lower the temperature.
"That isn’t effective law enforcement. It isn’t following the rule of law. It’s chaos. It’s illegal. And it’s un-American," he wrote.
Walz said Trump wanted protests to turn to riots and to see chaos in Minneapolis. However, he argued, that Minnesotans "aren't taking the bait."
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks during a debate at the CBS Broadcast Center Oct. 1, 2024, in New York City. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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"They are protesting—loudly and urgently, but also peacefully," he wrote.
"This assault on our communities is not necessary to enforce our immigration laws. We don’t have to choose between open borders and whatever the hell this is. Mr. Trump can and must end this unlawful, violent and chaotic campaign, and we can and must rebuild an immigration enforcement system that is secure, accountable and humane," Walz wrote.
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President Donald Trump speaks at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. (Evan Vucci/AP Photo)
The president said Monday that he had a "very good call" with Walz, and said the governor wanted to "work together" in Minnesota.
"Governor Tim Walz called me with the request to work together with respect to Minnesota," Trump posted to Truth Social Monday. "It was a very good call, and we, actually, seemed to be on a similar wavelength. I told Governor Walz that I would have Tom Homan call him, and that what we are looking for are any and all Criminals that they have in their possession."
"The Governor, very respectfully, understood that, and I will be speaking to him in the near future. He was happy that Tom Homan was going to Minnesota, and so am I! We have had such tremendous SUCCESS in Washington, D.C., Memphis, Tennessee, and New Orleans, Louisiana, and virtually every other place that we have ‘touched’ and, even in Minnesota, Crime is way down, but both Governor Walz and I want to make it better!" Trump continued in his post.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/tim-walz-accuses-trump-organized-brutality-immigration-crackdown-says-ice-tactics-un-american