Vance defends federal law enforcement in Minnesota, calls for cooperation with local, state officials

Vice President JD Vance visited Minneapolis Thursday, calling for cooperation between local and federal law enforcement to “lower the temperature” as confrontations between violent protestors and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers have led to “chaos.”

“We can do a good job of enforcing our immigration laws without the chaos, but it actually requires the cooperation of state and local officials,” said Vance, who was sympathetic to local concerns about the operations but defended law and order.

Before addressing the media, Vance said he attended a roundtable with business leaders, ICE officers and local law enforcement to help “reduce the chaos” and allow the “federal government to enforce the American people’s immigration laws.” He explained how the number of federal officers in Minneapolis has significantly increased because local law enforcement has been told to “stand by” while ICE officers manage violent protests. 

“The local authorities have been told, ‘Do not cooperate,’” Vance said. “So, these guys are trying to go out and enforce the law. They’re trying to arrest sex offenders, but they’re trying to do it in an environment where local officials have been told: ‘Do not help them. Do not provide intelligence about where these sex offenders might be.’ This is disgraceful.” 

Vance said he’d “love to send home” federal officers with better cooperation from local and state authorities. The local “beat cops” want to assist but must follow their orders, Vance said.  

“What kind of person tells their local police, ‘Don’t protect somebody if they’re being assaulted by a protestor?’” he asked. “It’s crazy, and it’s got to stop.” 

Vance recognized the right of the people to peacefully protest but said anyone who assaults a federal officer will be prosecuted. 

“Come out and protest. Protest me. Protest our immigration policy, but do it peacefully,” he said. “If you assault a law enforcement officer, the Trump administration and the Department of Justice is going to prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.” 

Vance also confronted the media over “lying” about ICE officers and the job they are doing, challenging Americans to consider the events in their full context. He specifically offered context as reporters asked questions about videos and accusations that went viral, but which appeared far less egregious when understood in their context. 

For example, Vance clarified the reporting surrounding a 5-year-old boy who was allegedly detained by ICE officers. The boy’s father was an illegal alien who fled from ICE officers, and they could not leave an abandoned minor on the street, he said. 

“As a child, I saw people in my family get arrested. It’s terrible. It’s heartbreaking. It’s chaotic. It’s traumatic for kids. I can recognize that, and I can recognize that we have to support these kids,” Vance said. “While, on the other hand, saying that just because you’re a parent doesn’t mean that you get complete immunity from law enforcement. And I think we have to hold both of those thoughts in our head at the same time. … 

“We’ve got to be sympathetic to the kids who are caught up in some of these enforcement actions. We’ve also got to say: we have to enforce the law without bias, with fairness – but we’ve got to enforce the law.” 

When asked, Vance said he had not spoken with Gov. Tim Walz on his trip but would be happy to “continuing talking.” The issue, however, is “primarily a law enforcement issue,” he said, and that involves the attorney general and the local mayor before the governor.  

“I don’t need Tim Walz or Jacob Frey or anybody else to come out and say that they agree with JD Vance or Donald Trump on immigration. I just don’t need that,” Vance said. “What I do need them to do is empower their local officials to help our federal officials out in a way where this can be a little bit less chaotic and it can be a little bit more targeted.” 

Vance explained that if local or state police would share the home address of registered sex offenders and illegal aliens with ICE officers, these agents could arrest the criminals at home and not at public locations such as work. 

“Simple changes in how they’re approaching immigration enforcement would make this work a lot better,” he said, adding that other blue cities around the country are not having the same kinds of problems with ICE. “It would make Minneapolis streets a lot safer. It would make this whole thing a lot less traumatic for this community.”