AILSA CHANG, HOST:
From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Ailsa Chang in Culver City, California.
JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
And I'm Juana Summers in St. Paul, Minnesota, one of the twin cities at the center of the national political fight over immigration enforcement.
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AMY KLOBUCHAR: Three thousand ICE agents on our streets and in our towns, sent by an administration that relishes division. We cannot sugarcoat how hard this is.
SUMMERS: That is U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar in a video she released earlier today, announcing her run for governor of Minnesota. The federal immigration enforcement push here has scrambled political messaging. President Trump has been trying to address concerns over the economy in the lead-up to midterm elections, but Democrats like Klobuchar are pointing to what's happening in Minneapolis. We are here at Minnesota Public Radio, where I'm joined by ALL THINGS CONSIDERED host Clay Masters. Hi.
CLAY MASTERS, BYLINE: Hi, Juana.
SUMMERS: Let's start, if we can, with Senator Klobuchar. Her name immediately popped up as a potential candidate when the state's governor, Tim Walz, announced that he would suspend his campaign for a third term. And that was, of course, before two U.S. citizens were killed by federal agents in Minneapolis. What does the ICE presence here do for Klobuchar's campaign, if anything?
CLAY MASTERS: I mean, still a lot of months until November, and voters have a short attention span, right? I mean, the killings of Renee Macklin Good and Alex Pretti have brought a lot of awareness to the way the president's immigration policies are being enforced. That seems to be helping Democrats, which could include Klobuchar. Locally here, a Republican running for governor, Chris Madel, ended his governor run, calling what's happening in the Twin Cities and across the state an unmitigated disaster. That's a Republican.
Democrats here really haven't had a lot of power to do anything about ICE's presence in the state other than, you know, condemn it publicly. I've asked Senator Klobuchar what her party can do, and she largely talks about having a check on the president. You know, having a chamber in Congress with a Democratic majority would do that, but again, quite a ways off until voters are making that decision.
SUMMERS: Now, the Trump administration has been signaling that it is trying to make some changes on the ground here by bringing in Tom Homan. He's the border czar. But does that actually change anything?
CLAY MASTERS: I mean, not yet. Homan got here this week after President Trump and Governor Walz had a phone call. Homan replaced Gregory Bovino with Border Patrol, who had been the face of the federal surge. Homan held a press conference this morning in Minneapolis, talking about how he says Minnesota officials need to cooperate if ICE is ever going to leave here.
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TOM HOMAN: Matter of fact, I have staff from CBP and from ICE working on a drawdown plan. What does that look like based on the cooperation? What does that look like based on how many targets we have left to find?
CLAY MASTERS: But, Juana, I should say there is no real evidence on the streets of de-escalation. Just yesterday, I spoke to Democratic state Senator Doron Clark from Minneapolis about ICE's ongoing presence. That includes ICE agents attempting to enter the Ecuadorian consulate, allegedly without a warrant.
SUMMERS: Right.
CLAY MASTERS: The mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, who has regularly been tangling with President Trump, responded to Homan's press conference today. Frey says any drawdown of ICE agents is a step in the right direction, but his ask remains the same - Operation Metro Surge must end - and that's a reference to the ramped-up presence ICE has had in Minnesota, which goes back to early December. We should also bring up Maine.
SUMMERS: Yeah.
CLAY MASTERS: There has also been an increased ICE enforcement presence in that state. Republican U.S. Senator Susan Collins says DHS has told her enhanced operations there have ended.
SUMMERS: And last thing, Clay, I do want to bring it back to the midterms again for a moment. Can Republicans really make it about anything but ICE right now?
CLAY MASTERS: I mean, President Trump certainly is trying to change the subject. He was in Iowa earlier this week, holding a rally in suburban Des Moines. That state has gone for him in the last three presidential elections, but there are a couple of competitive congressional House seats there this year. He spent the majority of his speech talking about the economy. Republicans want to keep control of Congress, and political arguments over ICE's presence here in Minnesota and the death of two U.S. citizens at the hands of federal agents is not helping them.
SUMMERS: Thank you, Clay.
CLAY MASTERS: Thank you.
SUMMERS: That's Minnesota Public Radio's Clay Masters. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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