Gov. Walz addresses US citizens detained by ICE; calls operations 'chaotic'

Walz on US citizens detained by ICE

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz spoke about the two U.S. citizens from Minnesota who were detained by ICE in what he calls "chaotic" operations.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Gov. Tim Walz addressed the U.S. citizens who were detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Minnesota recently, calling the operations "chaotic" and "racially motivated." 

Walz on ICE operations in Minnesota

What they're saying:

At a press conference Friday morning announcing a new fraud prevention program for the state, Gov. Walz said the ICE operations happening in the state are not making the community safer. 

He condemned the recent detainment of two U.S. citizens by ICE in Minnesota, calling the immigration operations happening in the state "chaotic", "racially motivated" and "reckless." 

Walz continued by saying that these operations do nothing to address immigration and "certainly does nothing to address fraud in programs." 

"It is very specifically aimed and very racially motivated toward a Somali community that matters greatly here," Walz continued. 

Gov. Walz said the letter he sent to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem regarding ICE operations in the state, has gone unanswered. 

The governor acknowledged Sen. Jim Abeler (R-Anoka) for rebuking President Donald Trump's comments against the Somali community, and Walz himself rebuked those comments. 

"Senator Jim Abeler's willingness to stand up and note that it should be the simplest thing in the world when the President of the United States calls an entire group of people garbage and our state garbage and a hellhole, to just disavow that," Walz said. "You can still be conservative. You can still call yourself a Republican. But I think if you want to call yourself a Minnesotan, and you want to call yourself a decent human being, you follow Jim Abeler's role here." 

US citizens detained by ICE in MN 

The backstory:

Gov. Walz's comments come after two U.S. citizens were detained by ICE in Minnesota. 

READ MORE: Minneapolis ICE surge: Citizen's detainment sparks alarm

One of those detained was a Somali woman who was born in Edina, and was in the Sherburne County Jail for over 24 hours. She wasn't released until her husband showed authorities her passport card, which proved her citizenship. 

She was arrested by ICE while running an errand in downtown Minneapolis. The woman's cousin said that she was confronted by multiple federal agents, who zip-tied her while mocking her hijab and touched her inappropriately. 

The second U.S. citizen detained was 20-year-old Mubashir, who has lived in Minneapolis since he was 1-year-old. Mubashir was working in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis when he saw ICE agents harassing people in the parking lot. Once he stepped outside, two agents rushed him. He attempted to verify his legal status, but he was still taken to a detention center in Bloomington. 

Eventually he was released, and was talked to "walk" home during the winter storm.