On Wednesday, President Donald Trump's border chief reportedly had a "very productive" meeting with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D), who agreed to notify U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) when local jails release violent illegal aliens – a major request from federal law enforcement.
"Give us access to the illegal alien public safety threat in the safety and security of a jail," Homan said in a news conference the following morning. "It's common sense; it's safer for the community, it's safer for the agent, and it's safer for the alien."
Homan also said the Trump administration is working on a "drawdown plan" to decrease presence of federal agents in the state, but saying he has "zero tolerance" for protesters who assault his officers or impede their work, he made it clear that reduction will only come with cooperation from state officials.
He vowed to stay in Minnesota "until the problem is gone."
Ira Mehlman, media director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), is sure Tom Homan means what he says.
"It immediately brings to mind Ronald Reagan's saying about Mikhail Gorbachev and dealing with the Soviet Union: Trust but verify," he tells AFN. "The bottom line is that we have to be able to enforce our immigration laws."
The attorney general has since denied making any ICE agreement with Homan, saying "I did not make, and could not have made, any agreement with him about how sheriffs share with ICE information about people in their county jails."
According to his office, Minnesota law requires state prisons – not county jails – to notify federal authorities when a person without legal status is convicted of a felony.
Homan says Ellison "clarified" that jails may notify ICE, but Ellison's official response denies that a specific, agreed-upon arrangement was reached to facilitate these notifications.
Mehlman is unsure of how this will play out, but he hopes local authorities will work with the Trump administration to ensure that ICE can do its job.
"I'm sure when somebody commits to something from Tom Homan, you can bet that he's going to hold them accountable," he says.
