"Morning Joe" host Mika Brzezinski on Thursday unleashed after a press conference by federal officials about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Minnesota.
Thomas Homan, the executive associate director for Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), announced in a press conference on Thursday that federal agents are ending the "surge" in Minnesota after constant clashes with citizens across the state, including the shooting death of two people. Homan did not clarify if that meant ICE and Customs and Border Protection are being removed entirely, however.
After the press conference, Brzezinski said that an ICE draw down might be considered by some as being "safer."
She said that it's clear the "public is safer in Minneapolis if ICE gets out, given what has happened there because of ICE: chaos, fear, people being unlawfully detained, people being ripped away from their families."
From the start of President Donald Trump's administration, he pledged to get rid of the "worst of the worst," citing violent criminals and drug dealers. Instead, the federal officers have detained American citizens and immigrants with refugee status, valid work permits and those going through the citizenship process outlined by the federal government. Some have been released while others have not.
"And some of them are merely undocumented, but also working and giving back, serving this country. Yeah, they didn't go after the worst of the worst," said Brzezinski. "They say they are now — and in a condescending way — say that Minnesota's finally working with them to go into the prisons. No, you are cowering away with your tail between your legs and going toward the prisons."
She went on to cite recent NBC News polls showing that a majority of Americans have negative views of nearly every aspect of Trump's immigration and deportation tactics.
"People don't like seeing people murdered in the streets and then blamed for being murdered, Tom Homan," she said. "No. Don't condescend and lecture the state of Minnesota after what? Your ICE dudes, your ICE bros, idiots, untrained idiots who literally don't know how to handle weapons! Who walk in front of cars like boneheads and shoot people."
She turned to reporter Jonathan Lemire, noting the federal government, including deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem are not reliable in telling Americans what the reality is on the ground. As a result, Americans no longer believe what they claim.
"All of you guys in the administration, who still somehow have your jobs, you cannot tell the president what he doesn't want to hear, which leaves your numbers in the gutter, sort of where Pam Bondi accused lawmakers of going yesterday when they presented her with the victims of sexual abuse," quipped Brzezinski.
"Who raised these people? Who raised these people? Because Americans don't like what they see," she closed. "So you can scurry away from Minnesota and blame Minnesota for the public safety issue. But what ICE brought to Minnesota and Minneapolis specifically was a living hell for the community."


