Vance claims that sanctuary policies, rather than ICE, are endangering communities and agents.

Vance and ICE Rebut Sanctuary City Leaders’ Claims

Vice President J.D. Vance and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are challenging local leaders who criticize the agency for unrest in their areas, asserting that those leaders’ rhetoric is actually contributing to the turmoil.

On Tuesday, Vance stated on X that a significant issue is that “unregulated ICE raids only appear in blue sanctuary cities, where local officials are at odds with federal law enforcement.” He emphasized that the chaos is driven by “leaders” who seem to prefer “encouraging riots in the streets rather than following the law.”

ICE expanded on this, mentioning in a post on X that “everything begins with local leadership and their level of cooperation with ICE.”

This discussion follows several days of often violent protests against ICE, which erupted after activist Renee Nicole Good was shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis. Good, part of ICE Watch—a group that opposes federal immigration enforcement—died after allegedly attempting to hit a federal officer with his vehicle.

Local figures, such as Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, quickly pointed fingers at ICE, demanding their removal from the city on the same day of the shooting. Since then, Frey has only intensified his criticism, claiming the federal government is unjustly targeting Minneapolis by sending “thousands” of agents.

Frey claimed, “Minnesota and Minneapolis are being singled out because we have a Democratic governor, a Democratic attorney general, and a Democratic mayor.”

However, Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin indicated that the federal government is urgently seeking personnel for Minneapolis and other sanctuary cities. “Because Minnesota law enforcement won’t jail serious offenders, we have to find them in the community,” she stated.

She pointed out that the sanctuary policy hampers local law enforcement from assisting when their officers are attacked or obstructed.

McLaughlin mentioned, “This puts our officers and communities at risk.” She noted that 1,360 illegal immigrants with violent crime records are currently detained in Minnesota, warning that these individuals could be released back onto the streets. She argued that if local leaders like Governor Tim Walz and Frey were to reconsider these policies, public safety would improve significantly.