Fox News Host Confronts Minneapolis Mayor to His Face on Dangerous ICE Rhetoric: 'Here's the Little Secret'
Fox News host Griff Jenkins confronted Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey head-on Wednesday, bluntly stating that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are operating in the city to remove illegal immigrant criminals — not to appease local political leaders.
The tense exchange unfolded on “Fox & Friends” after Frey publicly lashed out at ICE in the wake of the fatal shooting of Renee Good, who was killed by an ICE agent during an enforcement operation after she appeared to accelerate her vehicle toward the officer. Frey previously demanded that ICE “get the f*** out” of Minneapolis.
Jenkins pushed back forcefully, noting that immigration enforcement activity has increased nationwide as federal authorities work to apprehend illegal immigrants who entered the country in record numbers during former President Joe Biden’s administration.
“Mr. Mayor, you ask ICE to get the F out of your city. Here’s the little secret. ICE, I’m sure, would like to not have to be doing the surge operations, but because of four years under the President Biden administration, you had an unprecedented number of illegal migrants coming across the border. Many of them turned out to be criminal, illegal aliens, and now they’re going after those individuals,” Jenkins said.
He went on to detail the scope of criminal activity tied to those arrests.
“We can show you just a litany of, excuse me, scores of illegal criminal aliens that have been apprehended in the past few days that have included everyone from murders to sex assault of minors,” Jenkins continued.
“These individuals were roaming free in your city because your policies do not cooperate with detainers, and so ICE is then going to get these people off the street.”
Frey attempted to deflect responsibility, arguing that massive immigration enforcement actions should not be focused on cities he claims have relatively low numbers of illegal immigrants.
“Look, in Minneapolis and in Minnesota, we are anti-murder,” Frey said.
“We are anti-crime. We are for improving the safety wherever we can. And by the way, we have worked with administrations, both present and past, to drive down crime… This, however, is the largest immigration enforcement action on record in the United States. And so I would just ask you, why is the largest scale immigration enforcement action taking place where we don’t even have that many undocumented immigrants? Why would it not take place in Texas or Florida or Utah, where you do actually have those large numbers of undocumented immigrants? Because that’s where it would actually make more sense.”
Jenkins countered that Minneapolis is experiencing unrest precisely because local leaders refuse to cooperate with federal authorities — a stark contrast to states that do.
He noted that widespread protests are largely absent in states such as Texas, Florida, and Louisiana, where officials work with federal law enforcement instead of obstructing it.
Frey insisted the demonstrations in Minneapolis have remained peaceful.
Additional details surrounding the fatal incident have continued to emerge. According to Alpha News, footage shows Good blocking ICE vehicles from driving in a traffic lane, prompting one agent to exit his vehicle and film her license plate.
When additional agents arrived and ordered Good to exit the vehicle, she instead started the car, backed up slightly, and accelerated forward. Good’s self-proclaimed wife, Rebecca, was heard shouting, “drive baby, drive,” from the passenger seat.
The officer fired as Good drove away, fatally striking her.
The shooting sparked immediate outrage from Frey and other Democratic officials, who claimed the use of force was unjustified. President Donald J. Trump’s administration has firmly rejected that narrative, stating the agent acted in self-defense.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on Jan. 7 that the officer was the victim of a vehicle attack and confirmed the incident occurred during a targeted enforcement operation.
As the debate continues, the confrontation underscores a broader divide between sanctuary-style local governance and the federal government’s renewed effort to enforce immigration law, protect public safety, and restore order under President Trump’s second term.