Minnesota AG Keith Ellison Tries to Stop Sheriffs from Turning Criminal Illegal Aliens Over to ICE Agents



Christopher Mark Juhn/Anadolu via Getty Images

by John Binder21 Jan 2026
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Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D) is attempting to stop local sheriff’s departments from turning criminal illegal aliens in their custody over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

In a legal memo issued last month, Ellison told sheriffs across the state that they were not permitted to sign 287(g) agreements with ICE, claiming that only county boards of commissioners could do so.

On its webpage, ICE defines Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act:

The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 added Section 287(g) to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), authorizing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to delegate state and local law enforcement officers the authority to perform specified immigration officer functions under ICE’s direction and oversight.

The agreements allow local police to seamlessly identify criminal illegal aliens in their jails and prisons and swiftly turn them over to ICE agents for arrest and deportation.

Ellison’s memo, which critics told Breitbart News is not legally binding, suggests that Minnesota law allows sheriffs to provide law enforcement services “but does not grant sheriffs the authority to sign such agreements with the federal government,” a press release from Ellison’s office stated.

“The fact that lawmakers enacted a detailed statute regarding contracts by sheriffs for providing law enforcement services to cities and towns but did not provide for similar contracts with the federal government, implies that the omission of federal contracts is intentional,” Ellison claimed.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) told Breitbart News that Ellison’s memo is not the law and that sheriffs in Minnesota have the authority to work with ICE agents.

“Keith Ellison is a partisan hack who hates cops. His opinion is advisory and is not the law,” Emmer told Breitbart News.

“Minnesota sheriffs should talk to legit lawyers, follow federal law, and cooperate with federal immigration authorities to keep Minnesotans safe and to ensure all law enforcement can do their jobs,” Emmer said. “If you’re upset about the chaos in Minnesota, you can blame the radical extremists like Keith Ellison and Tim Walz for preventing coordination between our heroes in law enforcement.”

Ellison’s memo to stop such 287(g) agreements with Minnesota sheriffs comes as the Trump administration has drastically grown the program after the Biden administration gutted it.

Today, ICE has more than 1,255 287(g) agreements with local police departments. When Trump took office a year ago, ICE had just 134 287(g) agreements.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2...to-ice-agents/