Walz Called Out By ICE After Arrest Of Illegal Immigrant Sex Offender-lllllllllll
Immigration and Customs Enforcement publicly criticized Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey after federal agents arrested an illegal immigrant sex offender in Minneapolis following a targeted enforcement operation.
ICE said the arrest involved Mahad Abdulkadir Yusuf, who authorities identified as a Somali national unlawfully present in the United States, Fox News reported.
According to ICE, Yusuf was convicted in 2016 of first-degree criminal sexual conduct after forcing a victim to perform oral sex on multiple occasions.
The agency said Yusuf had remained at large in Minneapolis for years despite his conviction and immigration status.
Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin reported that ICE agents had previously attempted to arrest Yusuf at his residence but were unable to do so after a building manager denied them access to the apartment.
ICE said those failed attempts forced agents to conduct a more complex, targeted operation to take Yusuf into custody.
Following the arrest, ICE issued a statement directly blaming Minnesota’s sanctuary policies for the delay.
“Thanks to the sanctuary policies of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, this dangerous criminal was free to prowl the streets and victimize Minneapolis residents for years,” the agency said.
ICE said in a post on X, “This is who Governor Walz and Mayor Frey defend.”
The arrest comes as immigration enforcement in Minnesota has drawn heightened attention following recent ICE activity in the state.
Walz and Frey have repeatedly defended sanctuary-style policies, arguing that limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities helps build trust between local law enforcement and immigrant communities.
Both officials have said such policies are designed to encourage crime reporting and cooperation without fear of immigration consequences.
ICE has countered that such policies can impede enforcement actions against individuals with serious criminal records.
The agency has repeatedly stated that its primary mission is to target illegal immigrants convicted of violent crimes, including sexual assault, homicide, and gang-related offenses.
ICE officials say enforcement actions like the arrest of Yusuf demonstrate the challenges agents face when access to suspects is restricted.
The Department of Homeland Security has not announced whether additional enforcement actions are planned in Minneapolis, but ICE said it will continue operations focused on individuals it considers threats to public safety.
“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers launched a targeted enforcement operation in Minnesota, Dec. 31, to locate and apprehend Mahad Abdulkadir Yusuf, a criminal illegal alien and convicted sex offender from Somalia. Thanks to the sanctuary policies of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, this dangerous criminal was free to prowl the streets and victimize Minneapolis residents for years,” ICE said in a press release.
“Yusuf committed a series of horrific crimes, including a conviction for criminal sexual conduct in the first degree where he forced his victim to perform oral sex on him multiple times. He was also arrested in 2016 for assault in the first degree and has an active warrant from 2024 for obstructing police,” it said.
“He originally entered the United States in 1996 and was a lawful permanent resident. However, he threw away his shot at the American dream by repaying our country’s generosity with these vicious crimes,” the press release said.
“ICE HSI arrested Yusuf at his Lake Street apartment. They had previously attempted to make this arrest, but the apartment manager obstructed federal law enforcement agents by preventing them from entering the building and actively protected this known, convicted sex offender. This time, ICE was successful,” it said.
“Local sanctuary policies and continued misinformation about what ICE operations actually entail continue to fuel these irresponsible, dangerous acts of obstructing law enforcement,” HSI Special Agent in Charge Mark Zito said. “Every time local jurisdictions refuse to cooperate with ICE, and every time activists use their ridiculous whistles and bullhorns to alert criminal aliens, they are helping violent offenders, including convicted sex predators like this one, escape justice.”
Rep. Ilhan Omar Intensifies Criticism of Federal Immigration Enforcement
Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota sharply escalated her criticism of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operations on Monday, accusing federal agents of treating Minneapolis as an occupying force and again calling for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s resignation or impeachment.
In remarks to constituents in Minneapolis, Omar repeatedly described the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal officers in the city as an inappropriate use of government authority, saying the situation has created fear among local residents. Omar said Minneapolis is “currently under occupation” and cited concerns about schools, hospitals and daily life as evidence of what she called harmful federal intervention.
“We do not exaggerate when we say we have schools where two-thirds of the students are afraid to go to school,” Omar said. “We do not exaggerate when we say we have people who are afraid to go to the hospital because our hospitals have occupying paramilitary forces.”
Omar referenced two recent fatalities during federal immigration operations in Minneapolis — the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good — and argued those incidents underscored the need for new leadership at DHS. In her remarks, she blamed senior White House advisers for shaping the administration’s immigration policies.
“When we say it is time for Kristi Noem to go, we mean it now,” Omar added. “And there needs to be accountability for the architect of the terror we are facing in Minneapolis and so many other cities, which is Stephen Miller.”
Omar’s comments follow an appearance on MSNBC’s All In with Chris Hayes, where she reiterated those positions and broadened her critique to include senior administration officials. In that interview, she said Noem should resign or face impeachment, echoing earlier statements from House Democratic leadership. Omar also repeated criticism of Miller, a senior White House adviser on immigration policy, calling him a “copycat of the Nazis” and suggesting he should be prosecuted.
Her remarks also tied national Republican rhetoric on immigration to broader social tensions, asserting that aggressive enforcement language has “created anger” that can lead to confrontations with Somali immigrants and other community members in Minnesota.
Omar’s public criticism comes amid the ongoing federal immigration operation known as Operation Metro Surge. Federal agents have been deployed to Minneapolis to apprehend illegal immigrants with criminal convictions, drawing protests and heightened scrutiny from local officials and advocacy groups.
Democratic lawmakers, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), have called for increased oversight of DHS and ICE policies as part of broader negotiations over long-term funding for the Department of Homeland Security. Jeffries has publicly stated that Noem should be impeached if she does not resign, and Schumer has called for additional conditions on immigration enforcement in appropriations legislation.
In response to increased political pressure, DHS has taken steps to increase transparency in its operations. Earlier this week, Secretary Kristi Noem announced that body-worn cameras will be issued to all federal immigration enforcement officers deployed in Minneapolis as an immediate measure, with plans to expand the program nationwide as funding becomes available. “Effective immediately we are deploying body cameras to every officer in the field in Minneapolis,” Noem wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Federal officials have said that some Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers present during the Jan. 24 shooting of Pretti were already equipped with body cameras, though full footage has not been released. Officials have not yet clarified whether ICE officers were wearing cameras during the earlier fatal encounter involving Good.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz responded to Noem’s announcement by saying body cameras should have been in place prior to the deaths of Pretti and Good, who were tragically killed while interfering with ICE law enforcement operations.
