Tom Homan has offered a direct explanation for why federal immigration enforcement activity in Minneapolis has intensified, pointing to local sanctuary policies as the driving factor. According to Homan, when cities or states refuse to honor ICE detainers, they eliminate the safest method for transferring custody of individuals who already have criminal records.
Why Detainers Matter
In jurisdictions that cooperate with federal authorities, ICE agents can take custody inside jails or detention centers. These controlled environments allow arrests to happen quietly, efficiently, and with minimal risk to officers or the public.
What Changes in Sanctuary Cities
Homan explains that when detainers are ignored, those same individuals are released back into the community. ICE is then required to locate them elsewhere, often in neighborhoods, parking lots, or public areas. This shift forces agents to operate without the protections that a secure facility provides.
Higher Risk, More Resources
According to Homan, street-level arrests demand larger teams, detailed planning, and additional safety measures. Officers must account for unknown surroundings, potential resistance, and the presence of bystanders. What could have been a simple, one-agent transfer becomes a coordinated operation involving multiple personnel.
Not More Enforcement—Different Enforcement
Homan stresses that these outcomes are not the result of increased federal aggressiveness. Instead, he argues they are a direct consequence of local policies that restrict cooperation. Enforcement does not disappear, it simply moves into more complex and risk-filled environments.
The Core Argument
From Homan’s point of view, cooperation reduces danger, conserves resources, and keeps enforcement focused. Sanctuary policies, he maintains, do the opposite by pushing necessary arrests out of secure facilities and into public spaces.
What do you think about Tom Homan’s argument that cooperation with ICE keeps arrests safer and out of public spaces?
Here is the video where Tom Homan explains why sanctuary policies force riskier ICE arrests:
