The highest-ranking Minnesotan in Congress is arguing that President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown in his state is already producing incredible results.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., told Fox News Digital on Thursday that Operation Metro Surge, the federal law enforcement action in Minneapolis, helped recover some 3,000 migrant children who were previously thought to be missing.
"Do you realize that Operation Metro Surge picked up 4,000 illegal alien criminals? Rapists, murderers, pedophiles, drug dealers - 4,000!" Emmer said.
"And by the way, I was told that, coming down here from the [House floor], that they've also located 3,000 missing migrant children. I mean, that's just in the Minneapolis area. You gotta be kidding me."
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Emmer, who has emerged as one of Trump's most outspoken congressional allies during his second White House term, is also an aggressive critic of his state's Democratic leadership.
He accused Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and state Attorney General Keith Ellison of rooting against the success of the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.
"Their crazy sanctuary state and sanctuary city policies literally have allowed these criminals to roam our streets and put our law-abiding, tax-paying, American citizens' - good Minnesotans' - lives at risk," Emmer said.
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Trump ordered a surge of federal law enforcement, primarily Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), to the progressive-run city in a bid to find and arrest illegal immigrants that have been shielded by its sanctuary policies.
The administration announced on Thursday that it was ending the deployment.
The federal operation in Minneapolis has been controversial at times and led to fierce clashes between law enforcement and city residents. Criticism or praise have largely fallen along partisan lines.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle called for added scrutiny after two U.S. citizens were shot during anti-ICE demonstrations there. Renee Nicole Good was killed by an ICE agent after being accused of hitting him with her car while attempting to drive away, while Alex Pretti was fatally shot multiple times by Border Patrol weeks later.
Emmer blamed the chaos on a refusal by state and city Democrats to cooperate with federal authorities.
"I don't care if you think they were in the right place, the wrong place, it doesn't matter. A loss of a life is tragic, but it didn't have to be this way," he said. "Had there been cooperation, none of this would have happened. If they will cooperate, which it sounds like they are now going forward, things are going to settle down very fast."
Trump had responded to the uproar by replacing federal leadership there, bringing in border czar Tom Homan to lead the government effort instead of Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino. Homan's appointment has been praised by Republicans.
Emmer said Homan took a "great step" in announcing the drawdown on Thursday, arguing "the numbers speak for themselves."
"I think what the administration has done is frankly excellent. Tom Homan, I think, announced … that Operation Metro Surge was successful and that they're going to be ending it and the president approved of that, which tells me that they're getting the cooperation that they need [from state and local authorities]," he said.
