Gov. Tim Walz held a "productive" phone call with President Donald Trump Monday as tensions flare in Minnesota, the president shared on Truth Social. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Trump also demanded that state and local law enforcement be permitted to hand over illegal aliens who are arrested. Finally, Trump is calling for local law enforcement to assist in apprehending and detaining illegal aliens who are wanted for crimes.
"If Governor Walz and Mayor Frey implement these common sense cooperative measures ... Customs and Border Patrol will not be needed to support ICE on the ground in Minnesota," Leavitt said. "ICE and local law enforcement can peacefully work together as they are effectively doing in so many other states."
"We want to let cops be cops," she said.
A protester, left, and a federal law enforcement officer argue outside of a house on Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (Yuki Iwamura/AP)
He shared an accompanying op-ed he wrote for The Wall Street Journal on Monday, in which he argued that federal presence in Minnesota is no longer about immigration, but rather "a campaign of organized brutality against the people of our state."
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"The administration claims that Minnesota jails release 'the worst of the worst.' In reality, the Minnesota Department of Corrections honors all federal and local detainers by notifying Immigration and Customs Enforcement when a person committed to its custody isn’t a U.S. citizen," Walz wrote. "There is not a single documented case of the department’s releasing someone from state prison without offering to ensure a smooth transfer of custody."
Anders Hagstrom is a reporter with Fox News Digital covering national politics and major breaking news events. Send tips to Anders.Hagstrom@Fox.com, or on X: @Hagstrom_Anders.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-says-spoke-walz-demands-minnesota-work-together-peacefully-ice-let-cops-cops