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, described the ERO region's detention and removal work across Minnesota and neighboring states and said officers work with federal, state and local partners to apprehend people whom federal authorities allege pose public-safety risks.

Ohm and the officials at the event listed enforcement activity and operations they said had taken place in the region. Ohm said federal officers had removed thousands of people since January and attributed to those arrests a mix of criminal charges, including homicide, assault, robbery, carjacking and weapons offenses. She and other officials also cited cases they characterized as involving human trafficking, visa fraud and members of criminal gangs or foreign terrorist organizations as designated by prior federal administrations. HSI and ERO officials identified a visa-fraud operation called "Operation Twin Shield" and said United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) assisted in fraud investigations.

Officials displayed evidence and referenced seizures of methamphetamine, fentanyl and weapons, with Westbay saying those items and other contraband were taken off streets in Minnesota and nearby states during operations conducted with partners such as the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Westbay said HSI Saint Paul works across Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.

Ohm criticized Minnesota elected leaders by name, saying violent crime in Minneapolis and St. Paul has risen since 2019 and attributing that trend in part to what she described as local leaders' refusal to defend citizens. She also said the state is not honoring ICE detainers in some cases, which, she said, results in people being released while federal officers must later locate them. "We wish the state would change their position on that," an official at the event said.

Ohm said a congressional appropriation will add federal officers, telling the audience that a bill passed by Congress allocates 10,000 new ICE positions and that the first groups of newly hired officers are being placed in field offices. She encouraged people who are in the country without authorization to use the CBP One app to return voluntarily, saying federal officials have offered assistance for voluntary departures.

Officials at the event also referenced an incident in San Francisco in which a vehicle was used to attack a Coast Guard facility and said federal agencies, including the Coast Guard, play a role in maritime drug interdiction. Ohm said such incidents underscore the need to support law enforcement.

The event included introductions of Tanya Price (assistant special agent in charge, HSI) and Toria Rich (Deputy Field Office Director, ERO), who were identified as regional staff members, and a question-and-answer period with reporters. Officials said some case details remain before the courts and declined to provide full specifics for ongoing prosecutions.

Officials described ongoing efforts to expand detention partnerships with local jurisdictions and said they were seeking additional cooperative agreements with counties and sheriffs. They also noted that some case details and criminal files remain subject to prosecution and that some statistics cited reflect internal counts or statements by federal officials rather than court judgments.

Ohm concluded by urging public support for law enforcement and said federal officers would continue operations in the region. Sam Westbay and David Easterwood said their offices will continue investigations and operational partnerships in the Upper Midwest.