Minnesota prisons say many fed 'arrests' are routine transfers to ICE

Mara H. Gottfried, Pioneer Press on Jan 26, 2026

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ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Department of Corrections said Monday they’ve identified 68 cases when they’ve transferred people from prison to federal custody and federal officials “falsely claim these same individuals were ‘arrested’ by waves of federal agents deployed into Minnesota communities.”

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has a “Worst of the Worst” website where DOC said they identified people who were subject to routine custody transfers to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“DHS is justifying an unprecedented federal deployment into Minnesota communities based on the demonstrably false narrative that Minnesota refuses to honor ICE detainers,” DOC said in its latest comments pushing back against DHS. “… What is troubling is DHS taking credit for ‘arrests’ which are, in reality, state-to-federal handoffs occurring at prison facilities after individuals complete their state terms of imprisonment, as has been the long-standing practice.”

The Corrections Department gave examples, including a case from Thursday. DOC said they transferred Jose Eliborio Ocampo-Leon from the Moose Lake prison to ICE custody.

The next day, DHS highlighted him in a press release with Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stating, “DHS law enforcement continues to remove violent criminal illegal aliens from the streets of Minnesota. Just yesterday they arrested pedophiles, sexual predators, and drug traffickers in Minnesota.”

County jails are a separate matter from the state’s prisons. State law says local law enforcement cannot hold people in custody in county jails solely based on civil immigration detainer requests from ICE, according to a legal opinion last year from Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.

County boards can enter into agreements with ICE, and seven of Minnesota’s 87 counties have agreements with ICE. They are Cass, Crow Wing, Freeborn, Itasca, Kandiyohi, Mille Lacs and Sherburne counties, according to ICE.

DHS said last Monday they arrested 3,000 “criminal illegal aliens” in the last six weeks.

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