CNN senior political commentator Scott Jennings recently addressed why immigration enforcement proceeds smoothly in most states but repeatedly encounters disruptions in Minnesota. Since early January, nearly 3,000 federal agents from the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol have been deployed to Minneapolis and St. Paul as part of an aggressive immigration enforcement operation.

Jennings, speaking on “The Arena with Kasie Hunt,” explained that coordination between local authorities and the federal government functions well across the country. However, Minnesota stands apart because top Democratic officials refuse to cooperate with federal authorities.

“I’d be frustrated too if I were faced with this wall of propaganda every single day. And if I were faced with these recalcitrant Democrats in Minnesota, who simply won’t cooperate with the federal government,” Jennings said when asked about President Donald Trump’s feelings regarding recent events in that state.

This resistance, Jennings noted, creates confusion and chaos. “All over this country, states and cities all over the country, you have cooperation going on between the locals and the federal government. You don’t see any chaos. You see very orderly transitions of illegal aliens into federal custody. They go into deportation. It works just fine,” he added.

“The only difference in Minnesota is you have Walz and Frey and Flanagan and the rest of these local Democrats who don’t want to cooperate. They think Minnesota should exist in some state of secession where federal laws don’t apply to people inside the state of Minnesota,” Jennings said.

Democratic Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey stated in a December 7 interview that city police would not cooperate with the federal immigration enforcement operation. Meanwhile, Democratic Minnesota Governor Tim Walz urged residents during a livestream to film ICE agents and accused President Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem of carrying out an “occupation” of the state, alleging that agents were “dragging pregnant women.”

Jennings emphasized that the turmoil in Minnesota stems less from federal policy and more from local resistance. “It is causing chaos, and if I were the president, I would be frustrated about that too,” he said. “Narratives aside, he’s the chief law enforcement officer of the United States, and he has to enforce the law in all 50 [states].”

In response to these tensions, the Department of Justice has launched an investigation into whether Governor Walz and Mayor Frey obstructed federal law enforcement. The inquiry comes after a federal immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis resulted in the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE officer on January 7. This incident sparked protests against ICE.

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https://dailycaller.com/2026/01/23/scott-jennings-ice-enforcement-minnesota/