President Donald Trump is taking aim at several Minnesota politicians over their alleged failure to comply with the federal government’s deportation efforts.
In a recent press release touting the president's removal of "illegal immigrant killers and drug dealers," Trump made specific mention of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, and the St. Paul City Council Vice President Hwa Jeong Kim for her role in protecting Minnesota immigrants.
The president calling all three "sick politicians" for not cooperating with his administrations with deportation efforts.
Mayor Carter spoke with WCCO's Adam and Jordana and says the President's name-calling would be laughable if the issue weren't so dangerous.
"We have children in this city who have grown up in Saint Paul, who know nothing about America, who are afraid to go to school because they're afraid of some roundup happening," says Carter. "And so, you know, we want to make it clear to the president, but much more important, we want to make it clear to our neighbors that our city employees just will never participate in some ridiculous roundup like that."
Carter does add that the new enforcement from the Trump administration is a threat to the city's citizens.
"Anything that makes your neighbors think they should be afraid to call 911 if they see someone on fire or see somebody being hurt or something like that, it makes you less safe," he says.
Trump warned in the release that "vicious criminals will be free to roam our streets" if sanctuary cities continue to resist. His press release says that in St. Paul, "ICE has arrested a Sudanese national convicted of rape of a victim under 13, a Mexican national convicted of criminal sexual conduct against a victim under 14, and a Laotian national convicted of child endangerment and criminal sexual conduct against a victim under 13."
The release from the White House continues to say that Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison warns law enforcement of “liability if they enforce immigration detainers” and says protecting communities from violent illegal immigrant criminals is “not our job.”
"President Trump's rhetoric makes law-abiding neighbors afraid to go to school, attend church, or even call 911," says Carter in a statement he posted to social media Tuesday. "By contrast, our Saint Paul officers solve murder investigations at twice the national rate and have cut violent crime by double digits."
"If the President wants real solutions to avoid a repeat of the record homicide surge America suffered during his first term, we're happy to help," Carter continues.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration is creating a registry for all people who are in the United States illegally, and those who don’t self-report could face fines or prosecution, immigration officials announced Tuesday.
Everyone who is in the U.S. illegally must register, give fingerprints and provide an address, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement. It cited a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act — the complex immigration law — as justification for the registration process, which would apply to anyone 14 and older.
The announcement comes as the administration seeks to make good on campaign promises to carry out mass deportations of people in the country illegally and seal the border to future asylum-seekers.