WASHINGTON
US Vice President JD Vance on Thursday defended the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement policies, arguing that resistance from local governments has contributed to disorder in some cities.
Speaking to a crowd in the state of Ohio, Vance said he would travel next to Minnesota to meet with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and local officials to discuss federal immigration operations.
"Now I'm headed from here to Minneapolis, where we're going to talk with some of our ICE agents, talk with local officials about how we can turn down the chaos.
"My simple piece of advice to them is going to be, look, if you want to turn down the chaos in Minneapolis, stop fighting immigration enforcement and accept that we have to have a border in this country. It's not that hard," he said.
Vance said the administration would continue to prioritize the removal of undocumented immigrants with criminal records.
Addressing concerns about mistakes by law enforcement, he acknowledged that errors can occur but said the vast majority of officers act appropriately.
"You're always going to have mistakes made in law enforcement...That's the nature of law enforcement. But the number one way where we could lower the mistakes that are happening, at least with our immigration enforcement, is to have local jurisdictions that are cooperating with us," he said.
Vance’s visit comes amid heightened tensions in Minneapolis following the fatal Jan. 7 shooting involving an ICE agent of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good in a case that has drawn nationwide attention and triggered protests.
Responding to a question from Anadolu during the public appearance, Vance was asked what message he would offer to members of the law enforcement community who are looking to the administration for reassurance, as well as to families affected by the current climate.
"Well, you know, one of the things that we want to do is send a message to our local law enforcement that we stand with them, and we're not going to abandon them," he replied.
Emphasizing support, he added: “I promise them -- every single police officer in this country, and every single federal law enforcement officer in this country -- we have your back.”
- Vance warns that assaulting federal officers will lead to prison
Later Thursday, Vance held a roundtable discussion with local business owners, political leaders and others on ICE actions in Minneapolis.
Praising the immigration agents, he said they "are under an incredible amount of duress, an incredible amount of chaos, and because of a few very far-left agitators, a lot of these guys are unable to do their jobs without being harassed, without being doxed, and sometimes without being assaulted — that's totally unacceptable."
He urged more cooperation with state and local officials.
Underlining that he does not want "so many" ICE officers in Minneapolis, Vance said, however, that they are in the city both to enforce immigration laws and to protect the people from the "rioters."
"That’s an absurd state of affairs, and we wouldn't need it if we had a little bit more cooperation from the Minneapolis Police Department," he added.
The vice president pushed back against criticism that enforcement actions have improperly targeted American citizens, saying such cases typically involve serious criminal conduct.
"When there are American citizens who've been caught up in some of these enforcement operations, very often it is people who have assaulted a law enforcement officer...This is not a group going around and looking for people who violated the law based on skin color," he said.
Vance was asked about the role of local law enforcement, noting concerns that local agencies have not sufficiently assisted federal officers who have been "assaulted repeatedly." He was also questioned about whether similar large-scale operations could expand to other cities if conditions do not change locally.
"Well right now, we're focused on Minneapolis, because that's where we have the highest concentration of people who have violated our immigration laws, and that's also, frankly, where we see the most assault of our law enforcement officers.
"Our plan is very simple: If you assault a federal law enforcement officer, we are going to do everything that we can to put you in prison," he added.
