MINNEAPOLIS — Vice President JD Vance acknowledged chaos in Minneapolis during the federal government’s immigration enforcement surge but said the operation would be smoother with better cooperation from local officials.

Speaking to reporters in Minneapolis on Thursday, Jan. 22, Vance said he doesn’t think the president needs to invoke the Insurrection Act to deploy military for law enforcement because of the large number of federal officers already in the Twin Cities area, but he said that if “chaos gets worse” or more ICE agents get assaulted “that would be a problem.”

“The reason why things have gotten so out of hand is because of the failure of cooperation from state and local authorities,” Vance said.

Vance delivered remarks and answered questions in Minneapolis after privately meeting with ICE agents and business leaders in an effort to “tone down the temperature a little bit.” He said reports of racial profiling or violations of the rights of citizens would be taken seriously and that a small number of officers make mistakes, but he argued that many stories have missed context that help justify the actions of immigration officials.

Flanked by ICE SUVs, federal agents and American flags, Vance said most protesters have been peaceful, but many not. He said “far-left” agitators are to blame for creating an environment of fear for ICE agents who have been followed, harassed or assaulted. Many agents are in Minneapolis just to protect other officers carrying out the operation from crowds, he said.

“Yes, come out and protest, protest me, protest our immigration policy, but do it peacefully,” Vance said. “If you assault a law enforcement officer, the administration and I wanted to show some support for these guys who frankly are operating in a very, very tough environment.”

Gov. Tim Walz responded to Vance in a post on social media saying he is glad Vance “agrees the temperature needs to be turned down.”

But Walz said Minnesota doesn’t need 3,000 ICE agents in the state. “Take the show of force off the streets and partner with the state on targeted enforcement of violent offenders instead of random, aggressive confrontation.”

Vance has taken a prominent role in supporting the ICE surge in Minneapolis and has vigorously defended the actions of officer Jonathan Ross, who fatally shot Renee Good in early January. The vice president has also focused on the sprawling fraud scandals in Minnesota’s social services programs. He announced a new associate attorney general to oversee fraud with a mission that will begin in Minnesota.

Vance said he felt local police were being hampered from helping protect ICE officers by elected leaders, including sheriffs, and asked for access to Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) data to help carry out enforcement.

The Trump administration made demands for that information ostensibly to help prevent fraud in social services programs. But Vance suggested it could be used to locate undocumented immigrants.

Vance took questions for more than 20 minutes, and he responded to reports about a 5-year-old boy who was detained by ICE this week. As a father of a 5-year-old, he said he was horrified when he first heard the story, but after getting more details he said agents didn’t have another choice.

“What are they supposed to do, are they supposed to let the 5-year-old freeze to death?” Vance said. He said the boy’s father was in the country illegally and agents needed to enforce the law.

Vance also responded to Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley, who said earlier this week that an off-duty officer was stopped by federal agents and asked for her paperwork. Bruley said the officer is a U.S. citizen and had to de-escalate the situation by saying she was an officer.

“If it is happening to our officers, it pains me to think of how many of our community members are falling victim to this every day,” Bruley said.

Vance said it is “absolutely” a concern if someone is racially profiled or has their rights violated but that many “viral” stories recently have been only partially true.

Vance’s stop comes after the U.S. Department of Justice delivered subpoenas to Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her.

On Thursday, Jan. 22, federal agents arrested Minneapolis civil rights activist Nekima Levy Armstrong and St. Paul school board member Chauntyll Allen in connection with the disruption of a church service on Sunday.

Vance told reporters that “if you go and storm a church,” the federal government will try to “put you in prison.”

Federal officials have for days asked Minnesota leaders to tone down anti-ICE rhetoric to lower the temperature in street protests. They have also asked law enforcement and prison officials to better work with ICE in several ways, such as holding people in custody beyond a release date so ICE can pick them up.

Prison officials say they comply with what are known as ICE “detainers.” Many sheriffs say they lack the legal authority to do so. Vance said the Minnesota Department of Corrections has “hardly been the worst offenders.”

In a separate news conference on Jan. 22, Border Patrol Cmdr. Greg Bovino said wouldn’t set a timeline for the end of Operation Metro Surge, and agents will continue working “until there are no more of those criminal illegal aliens.”

Ahead of Vance’s arrival, the Minnesota DFL criticized the VP for holding private meetings with ICE agents but not with state law enforcement, elected officials or families affected by the surge in federal immigration enforcement.

DFL Party Chair Richard Carlbom said Walz invited had President Trump to Minnesota “in good faith to listen and learn from our communities.”

“Instead, Trump sent JD Vance to hold closed-door meetings with groups sharing his worldview, refusing to engage with those living with the chaos of Trump’s retribution campaign,” Carlbom said. Vance said he did meet with people who had opposing views.

Her told CNN that Vance should “go out and actually see the damage and the harm that you’ve caused.”

“Look at our establishments, our restaurants, our grocery stores, and see … how there’s no customers there, how business is down 60 to 70 percent and how businesses are going to have to shutter their doors and close,” Her said.

This was Vance’s second visit to Minneapolis since the 2024 election. He came to the city in September after the shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church and School and met with family members of victims and church leaders.

Vance said that “was a very special moment for me to be invited into that community in a time of grief” and that he was thinking of the families of victims.

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