Jan. 22 (UPI) — Vice President JD Vance was scheduled to travel to Minneapolis on Thursday to meet with immigration enforcement officials and give a speech focusing on “restoring law and order” to the state, the White House said.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced the visit in a post on X, adding that Vance is also expected to participate in a roundtable with local leaders and community members.
Vance’s visit comes weeks after the Trump administration deployed thousands of federal agents to Minnesota, ramping up immigration enforcement. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it was specifically targeting Somalis after dozens were accused of creating businesses that defrauded the state by charging more than $1 billion in services for children that were never provided.
Local and state officials in Minnesota, as well as civilians, have taken issue with ICE agents’ tactics, which St. Paul police Chief Axel Henry described Tuesday as “clearly outside the bounds of what federal agents are allowed to do.” ICE and Border Patrol agents have been met by scores of protesters over the weeks of immigration enforcement.
On Jan. 7, residents of one neighborhood protested a convoy of federal immigration vehicles. One anti-ICE activist, Renee Good, blocked the ICE vehicles with her own and during an interaction with officers, one ICE agent shot and killed her. Federal authorities said Good tried to use her vehicle to run over the agent, but bystanders and local officials said it appeared as though she was trying to drive away from the scene.
Another ICE-involved shooting injured an undocumented Venezuelan man who allegedly fled during a traffic stop and, with two other men, assaulted an ICE officer.
In a news conference the day after Good’s fatal shooting, Vance described her death as a “tragedy of her own making.” He described the ICE agent who shot her, Jonathan Ross, as the real victim of the interaction.
“This is a guy who’s actually done a very, very important job for the United States of America. He’s been assaulted, he’s been attacked, he’s been injured because of it. He deserves a debt of gratitude,” Vance said.
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