Homeland Security secretary praises regional ICE work, urges local support as officials describe arrests and deportations

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristine Ohm visited Minneapolis and St. Paul to highlight recent enforcement operations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and to urge local residents and officials to support federal law enforcement.

Ohm said the regional office and its partners have focused on removing what she called the "worst of the worst" from area streets and described arrests, deportations and criminal prosecutions she credited to HSI, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) and other federal partners. "We don't pick winners and losers. We don't decide which law gets enforced and which doesn't," Ohm said, urging lawmakers who object to existing laws to seek legislative change.

At the event, Sam Westbay, acting special agent in charge for HSI Saint Paul, described cross-border criminal networks that his office investigates and said HSI Saint Paul is coordinating with federal and local partners to disrupt trafficking in drugs, weapons and people. "The threats we face today are more sophisticated and global than ever before," Westbay said.

David Easterwood, acting field office director for ERO Saint Paul,…