LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Minnesota's Attorney General Keith Ellison joins me now for more on this partial ICE withdrawal. Good morning, and welcome back to the program.
KEITH ELLISON: Good morning, Leila.
FADEL: So you've called this drawdown a step in the right direction, but you want to see more. Was this drawdown part of negotiations you were involved in with Homan and the federal government?
ELLISON: I would say no. I have repeated the law in the state of Minnesota and the Constitution repeatedly and made it clear that, look, we're not doing anything other than obeying what the law requires. Minnesota law already states that if you are convicted of a felony and you are in custody, you're - the authorities already, and for decades, have inquired about your nationality and have shared that information. And so this idea that Minnesota is some outlier, is some sanctuary state which needs to be punished by the federal government is not true at all. It's never been true.
This is not about immigration. It's about what Trump said it was, retribution. So he's imposing a economic recession on Minnesota, a reign of terror, violent men in the street killing Minnesotans. It's terrible. And so, look, happy to talk to Mr. Homan about them leaving, of course. They're not wanted. You can barely walk a block in Minnesota and not see an ICE out sign. They're actually, I would venture to say, hated. And it feels like a military occupation, and they can't leave fast enough for us.
FADEL: Now, the White House border czar Tom Homan continues to put the onus of responsibility on state and local officials, saying continued drawdowns depends on state and local official cooperation. What do you say to that?
ELLISON: I say that they started from the very beginning with Operation Metro Surge to - they sent 3,000 armed men with masks here to intimidate and bully and eventually kill Minnesotans. And now they know that this is deeply, deeply, deeply unpopular. And I don't know, I guess they do want to draw down, but they don't want to just admit that they were absolutely wrong from the beginning.
And so, I don't know, he's - look, I will give Homan this. Noem never wanted to talk to us. Bovino didn't want to talk to us. Homan's talking to us, and he's talking about leaving. And so we're happy to have that conversation. But this was never about what Minnesota was doing. It was never about sanctuary cities or fraud or immigration. It was about what Trump said it was, punishing our state, retribution, as he said. That's what it is. And that's what he wants to do other places.
FADEL: Is that what...
ELLISON: Believe me, there's people with many more, much more higher immigration than other places, and you will not see this blanket of terror imposed on those places.
FADEL: Is that what you have said to Homan in your meetings?
ELLISON: Look, I've talked in an adult way to Mr. Homan, helping him understand what Minnesota law requires, helping him understand what the Constitution requires. He has responded in an adult way as well. But the idea that we're giving up something, no, we're following the law. I think even the word cooperation is a little misleading because what we're doing is following what the law requires and has always required. And so we're clarifying that. We're pointing out, you know, concerns we have and we're having an exchange of views. That's what's going on.
FADEL: We heard earlier in the program that two-thirds of the country in a recent survey now think ICE has gone too far.
ELLISON: They're right.
FADEL: Do you think that sentiment and protesters, who have been out day after day demanding ICE get out of their city, actually played a role in the government's decision to begin a drawdown?
ELLISON: Well, we do know that the president is a poll watcher. He's constantly talking about ratings. He's obsessed with how he looks all the time. So, yeah, I do think it has something to do with it. But I can tell you that if the president was ever hoping to be popular in Minnesota, he has done exactly the opposite.
FADEL: What do you want to see the federal government do now?
ELLISON: Leave immediately.
FADEL: That's Minnesota's Attorney General Keith Ellison. Thank you for your time.
ELLISON: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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