Operation Metro Surge is winding down. What should state government do going forward?
In the last couple of weeks, I have tried to use polling data to discover what Minnesotans think our state government ought to do about the issue of illegal immigration. Its options are limited owing to the fact that immigration policy is a matter for the federal government, not the states.
Previous polling has found that Minnesotans are not enamored with the tactics used in the federal enforcement of immigration law in their state. At the sate time, polling has been largely silent on the question of what Minnesotans think the overall aim of federal immigration policy should be. New results from the NBC Decision Desk/KARE 11/Minnesota Star Tribune Poll support this, finding that Minnesotans are, generally, unhappy with the federal government’s enforcement operations.
But what about state authorities? When asked “Do you think local police in your community should cooperate with federal immigration authorities to deport people who are in the country illegally?” — the poll’s only question about state or local policy — 38% of Minnesotans polled say that should “Always cooperate,” 47% say they should “Cooperate in some cases,” and only 15% say they should “Never cooperate.” As Table 1 shows, the total for at least some cooperation between police in their community and federal immigration authorities gets more than 70% support in every single one of the eighteen categories given. Where cooperation finds its least support, among “People of color,” it still polls 73%. This is broadly consistent with the findings of a recent KSTP poll which found that Minnesotans favor local law enforcement helping federal immigration authorities by 14 points.
Once again, we see that it is the “Ice Out” demands of activist groups and the likes of Mayor Jacob Frey which are the minority view in Minnesota, a finding which will probably come as a surprise to those who subsist on an informational diet delivered to them by social media algorithms.
Of course, the option of cooperating “in some cases” begs the question of which cases. But last week, I wrote:
“Ending these sanctuary policies and beginning with some narrow, commonsense steps — like honoring ICE detainment orders for violent offenders already in custody — and directing local law enforcement to assist with maintaining order and de-escalating confrontations with agitators would immediately lower tensions, reduce the need for street arrests, help restore order and turn down the political temperature,” Rep. [Harry] Niska [R] writes. Minnesotans, it seems, agree. We hope that the measure brought forward last April will be brought forward again and pass. This, not the extremism of “Ice Out,” is the common ground in our state.
This latest polling supports that.