ICE's Withdrawal from Minnesota is a Tactical Retreat, Not a Sign of Deescalation

(Mary Murphy/Forum News Service)

ICE might be leaving Minnesota within the next week or so. But make no mistake. It is not a sign of deescalation but rather a tactical retreat. Consider what White House Border Czar Tom Honan said yesterday:

We have a lot of work to do across this country to remove public safety risk, who shouldn't even be in this country. And to deliver on President Trump's promise for strong border security and mass deportation, law enforcement officers drawn down from this surge operation will either return to the duty station or be assigned elsewhere to achieve just that.

What this tells me is that a) ICE will be deployed in large numbers elsewhere and b) that ICE will return to Minnesota at some point in the future. It also tells me the retreat coincides with the imminent shutdown of DHS at midnight over funding to ICE and CBP . But unless Republicans lose their majority in the House, at some point DHS will have its funding restored. And when it does ICE will be back with a vengeance. ICE isn't getting the fuck out. Not by a long shot.

I have no doubt President Trump will vigorously defend ICE at his State of the Union address later this month and escalate matters. It would not surprise me if he bestowed the "men" who murdered Renee Good and Alex Pretti with the Presidential Medal of Freedom or made a point of honoring them. That escalation will certainly reignite anger over Good and Pretti's deaths and cruelty with which ICE has treated migrants and American citizens alike.

While I think ICE will return to Minnesota in large numbers, I think it is more likely that the Trump Administration sets its sights on another blue state. I cannot help but think that Massachusetts could see the sort of ICE surge which occurred in Minnesota with tragic results. This is certainly not lost on leaders here in the Bay State including Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.

Until there is no more Trump Administration or an administration which shares it values, ICE presents a clear and present danger to the people of the United States regardless of our immigration status.