CNN commentator Ana Navarro appeared to demand that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) start doing what the agency has long done as a matter of routine: detain illegal immigrants as they are released from local jails and prisons.
During a Wednesday segment of CNN NewsNight, Navarro argued that dispatching thousands of ICE agents to Minneapolis was unnecessary, insisting that immigration enforcement could be handled more cheaply and efficiently at the doors of local lockups. According to the Daily Caller, her remarks came as the Biden administration faces mounting criticism from conservatives for its lax border and interior enforcement policies, even as left-wing activists continue to agitate against ICE operations in major cities.
Navarro told viewers she had consulted with law enforcement about the matter and laid out what she seemed to believe was a novel solution. I spoke to a police chief, a very experienced, respected police chief today. And I asked him, could ICE be at the county jail, because the state prisons we all agree is doing, is putting a detainer, is handing them over to ICE. Could ICE agents be at the door of the county jail? And when an undocumented immigrant has served their time or is released, could they grab him? Yes, theres nothing stopping them from doing that, Navarro said.
Her explanation prompted an immediate correction from former New York City Council Republican leader Joe Borelli, who pointed out that the process she was describing already exists in law and practice. Thats what a detainer is, Borelli responded. Thats what were talking about.
Under federal policy, an immigration detainer is a formal request from ICE to federal, state or local law enforcement agencies, including county jails, asking them to notify ICE before releasing an illegal alien and to hold that individual for up to 48 hours beyond their scheduled release. The agencys own guidance says the purpose is to allow ICE to take custody of an alien in a safe, controlled environment rather than forcing agents to track down criminal suspects in neighborhoods, workplaces or other public spaces.
Detainers are frequently issued for individuals convicted of some of the most serious offenses in the criminal code, including kidnapping, homicide, sexual assault and human trafficking. Conservatives have long argued that honoring these detainers is a basic public-safety measure, while progressive jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate with ICE have been blamed for preventable crimes committed by repeat offenders who should have been removed from the country.
Navarro nevertheless pressed her point, framing the use of detainers and jailhouse arrests as a cost-saving measure for local taxpayers and businesses. The names of the people who are detained in a county jail are public information, Navarro said. Anybody in the media can get them. Any of us can get those names. So they could run those names, know who is here illegally, if theres anybody illegally, know when their sentence is up. And yes, you know what? It would be a lot less costly to the businesses in Minneapolis, to the city of Minneapolis, to us as taxpayers if they put two ICE agents at the door of the county jail than if they have 3,000 agents terrorizing and occupying an American city.
Borelli again underscored that Navarro was belatedly endorsing the very enforcement mechanism that many on the left have spent years demonizing and undermining. Youre absolutely right because you just described the process of honoring ICE detainers, which is fantastic, he replied, highlighting the disconnect between progressive rhetoric and the practical realities of immigration enforcement.
The debate unfolded as the federal government has surged enforcement resources into Minnesota in response to escalating unrest and threats against immigration officers. President Donald Trumps administration sent nearly 1,000 additional ICE agents to the state to ensure that operations could be conducted safely, a move that stands in stark contrast to the current administrations more restrained posture and its frequent concessions to activist pressure.
Anti-ICE riots have roiled Minneapolis following the deaths of Renee Good, who was shot by an ICE agent after she allegedly struck him with her car, and Alex Pretti, an armed protester killed by a Border Patrol agent. Footage released Wednesday showed Pretti spitting at immigration enforcement officers and smashing the taillight of their vehicle just 11 days before his death, after which agents exited the car and restrained him on the ground.
For many conservatives, the episode on CNN underscored how poorly understood basic enforcement tools like detainers are among media figures who routinely criticize ICE while benefiting from the security those policies provide. As violent confrontations with federal officers continue and local leaders waver between appeasing activists and protecting the public, the question is not whether ICE can stand at the jailhouse door, but whether political will exists to let agents do the job they are already authorizedand obligatedto perform.
Login