MINNEAPOLIS (KFGO/WCCO) – The Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Corrections is reflecting on the stated mission of Operation Metro surge, the federal government’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota, and what he says is a significant lack of action by the federal government.
Paul Schell expressed his frustration with this immigration crackdown from the very start, saying the federal government’s claims about not getting local cooperation are not true, at least at the state level.
“They said early it was because of the noncompliance with detainers, and that simply wasn’t true,” says Schnell.
Schnell says the department worked with immigration enforcement officials to get them a list of undocumented inmates, totaling around 380.
“Roughly 110 of these ‘worst of the worst’ are in Department of Corrections custody,” Schnell says. “And we’ve notified ICE about those people being in our custody, and yet there is not a detainer lodged against them.”
Schnell says, despite those 100 or so inmates being in prison – inmates who have committed and been convicted of significant crimes – no federal official has come to get them, or even inquired about them. The commissioner also says he has asked for a list from ICE of who they are looking for – without any luck.
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