Rep. Byron Donalds said federal immigration enforcement efforts have been undermined by what he described as organized, paid protests and agitators in Minnesota that he claims have contributed to violence against Americans.
Donalds contrasted the situation in Minnesota, where protests have accompanied federal enforcement actions, with Florida’s approach, where he said law enforcement cooperation with federal authorities has prevented similar unrest.
“I'm not saying that. I'm saying that what people are seeing on their phones and on news networks around the country is the result of paid protests and paid agitators,” Donalds said.
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“That's what I'm saying.”
Donalds claimed there is evidence of a coordinated effort to follow ICE officers, and said that effort has had deadly consequences for Americans.
“And so there's already starting to see, we're starting to see some information about a high level coordinated effort to follow these ICE officers, and now you've had two Americans lose their lives as a result of that,” he said.
Donalds used Florida as a point of comparison to highlight what he said is the impact of political leadership on public response to federal operations.
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“And also, let's create the dichotomy. In Florida, we're completely cooperating with ICE in the state of Florida, you're not seeing the, not even just the crazy protests or the agitated protests,” he said.
“You're not seeing, obviously, these issues in Florida like you're seeing in Minnesota.”
Donalds said the difference stems from the political environment in Minnesota, where he accused Democratic leadership of fostering unrest for political gain.
“And that's because Governor Walz and Democrat leadership in Minnesota want nothing more than to create a political powder keg, so they have an opportunity to win elections in the future,” he said.
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Donalds’s comments come amid continuing protests and national attention following recent fatal encounters between federal agents and protesters during immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis, including the deaths of two Americans that have sparked broad debate and criticism.
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