Minnesota prisons chief accuses Homeland Security of peddling 'misinformation' on ICE surge

Deena Winter, Star Tribune on Jan 22, 2026

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MINNEAPOLIS — The head of Minnesota’s prison system accused U.S. Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, officials of spreading “misinformation” by falsely saying the state releases “criminal illegal aliens” to the public rather than turning them over to immigration officials.

At a news conference Thursday, Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell played videos of inmates being handed over to federal agents to refute DHS’s accusation. The development represents yet another volley in the back-and-forth between state and federal officials amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

DHS officials have repeatedly accused Gov. Tim Walz’s administration of refusing to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, claiming the state released nearly 470 “criminal illegal aliens” onto the streets since President Donald Trump returned to office and calling on the state to honor ICE arrest detainers for more than 1,360 people in state custody.

Schnell said despite the state’s efforts to correct the record, DHS continues to repeat “inaccurate and misleading” numbers.

“This is no longer simple misunderstanding,” he said. “At best, DHS fundamentally misunderstands Minnesota’s correctional system. At a minimum, this reflects systemic data management inadequacies or incompetence as it relates to DHS tracking of detainers in custody. At worst it is pure propaganda, numbers released without evidence to stoke fear rather than inform the public.”

A state survey of jails found 94 noncitizens in jail with ICE detainers, and 207 in prison, for a total of about 300 people. That’s about 1,000 fewer than Homeland Security’s claim, which corrections officials called “categorically false, unsupported by facts, and deeply irresponsible.”

Marcos Charles, the assistant director of enforcement and removal operations for ICE, has accused Minnesota prison officials of not turning people over to ICE after they’re released. He has repeated the claim that there are more than 1,360 pending ICE detainers, which ask jails or prisons to hold people after their release while ICE decides whether to detain them or release them.

During a Thursday news conference, Charles said Walz should direct county jails to honor ICE detainments, but Schnell noted Walz doesn’t control county jails.

Schnell said state law requires his department to notify ICE when a noncitizen enters prison, and the prisons fully comply. He said the state has always worked with ICE to transfer prisoners with immigration detainers to ICE upon their release.

Charles acknowledged on Jan. 22 that even though Minnesota doesn’t require the DOC to do so, the corrections department honors ICE detainers.

Schnell said his department has not found a single case where the state failed to honor an ICE detainer.

Schnell accused Homeland Security of falsely claiming to have arrested two undocumented people off the streets as part of Operation Metro Surge when in reality, they were released to ICE by the prison system.

He showed reporters a video of the transfer as proof. In a Jan. 12 news release, DHS included the two men in a list of “criminal illegal aliens” it said it arrested the day before.

“Truth matters. Facts matter,” Schnell said. “We need to acknowledge what is real and what is not.”

This isn’t the first time DHS has claimed to have picked up violent, undocumented criminals off the streets as part of Operation Metro Surge, even though they were released by the prison system to ICE, Schnell said.

Schnell said some on DHS’s lists were released to ICE years ago — as far back as the 1990s. DOC officials say the “worst of the worst” list includes many people who were never in Minnesota prisons and often had no criminal record in Minnesota. Some had short stays in jails, Schnell said, and some were in custody in other states.

Schnell said some of the people on the DHS “worst of the worst” list are people the corrections department had turned over to ICE and ICE released them back into the community, where they remain under county or state supervision.

DHS did not respond to a request for comment.

He said the corrections department has a good relationship with local ICE officials, but the false messaging is being put out at “higher levels.”