Minneapolis — Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt says she’s felt “scapegoated” during the federal immigration crackdown in the Twin Cities — but also says she’s open to limited cooperation with immigration authorities.
Witt says the Trump administration’s high-profile immigration operation has caused strain on local sheriffs deputies, deepened trauma within her community and shattered trust between Minneapolis residents and law enforcement wearing every uniform.
Until now, Witt had not publicly told her side of the story, but in her first sit-down interview since federal immigration agents descended on Minneapolis and St. Paul, Witt spoke with CBS News about “Operation Metro Surge” and its effect on Hennepin County law enforcement.
“We’ve definitely been scapegoated. I’m looking for people who really are looking for solutions, people who really know the meaning of negotiation and understand it’s not a one-side-takes-all, and let’s do this together.”
Trump administration officials have repeatedly accused local and state officials in Minnesota of not cooperating with immigration enforcement and of releasing hundreds of dangerous criminals into the streets rather than turning them over to federal immigration agents. The commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Corrections called these claims “fundamentally false.”
“We cooperate with ICE and ICE detainers,” Paul Schnell told CBS News in an interview earlier this month. “We have, as a matter of policy, done that for a long, long time.” Detainers are federal requests to local law enforcement to detain individuals for up to 48 hours after they’re set to be released from criminal confinement — which gives ICE time to decide whether to take them into custody to begin deportation proceedings.
Witt rejects claims that her office won’t work with federal partners, noting that for years, deputies on task forces with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Marshals, and Homeland Security Investigations have partnered on criminal investigations into human trafficking and sexual exploitation.
But she also drew a firm boundary. “We do not do civil or immigration enforcement. We never have.”
Asked about White House border czar Tom Homan’s blanket request that Hennepin County allow access to her jails, Witt countered, “We already make our roster public. But if you want us to hold people, get a judge to sign a warrant.”
Homan, she said, warned her that there might be “too many” such inmates for judicial warrants. Witt scoffed at that suggestion.
“Too many for who? There are fewer than 100 detainers in county [jails] statewide. If that’s too many, then the problem isn’t sheriffs — it’s the system.”
Witt also argues that local sheriffs should not have to act as the backstop for federal failures, but says both she and Homan agree the immigration system is fundamentally broken.
“We just don’t agree on how to fix it,” she said.
Nonetheless, she has left the door open to limited cooperation. The sheriff of Minnesota’s largest county, home to Minneapolis, says she’s considering whether to notify ICE before releasing people accused of the “worst of the worst” crimes: murder, rape and violent felonies.
But “we will not hold anyone one minute past their court-ordered release,” Witt said emphatically, citing legal liability. “If we slow-walk releases, we get sued.”
Witt added that she is concerned that criminals looking to prey on her community are seeking to take advantage of Minneapolis’ busy and overstretched law enforcement ranks. “We can’t take our eyes off the fact that there are still crimes happening right here, and there are people looking to see how they can capitalize on all this madness.”
An “exhausting” two weeks for Hennepin law enforcement
The past two weeks, Witt said, have been “exhausting” for her deputies, who have been deployed around the Whipple Federal Building as protests tied to “Operation Metro Surge” continue. In addition to the emotional and physical costs, the price tag is steep.
“We are over $500,000 in overtime expenses,” Witt said. The funds have been diverted from a department that was already understaffed and undergoing a formal staffing study.
Hennepin County is Minnesota’s most populous county, home to the state’s largest jail, which Witt says operates at roughly 85% capacity on most days. More than 90% of those incarcerated there, Witt added, are held on violent felony charges.
“We don’t have room in our jails for someone whose only offense is a civil immigration violation,” she offered bluntly.
The fatal shooting haunting Minneapolis
No moment underscored the crisis in trust in Hennepin County more than the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti. Asked about her reaction to the video, Witt said, “People film us all the time. Mr. Pretti should not be dead.”
She continued, “Filming is not justification to shoot someone. That is absolutely absurd.”
On Monday, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner ruled the death of Alex Pretti a homicide.
“I can’t fathom where in one of the most noble professions that becomes acceptable,” Witt said. “We need more people in law enforcement to speak up about that.”
Trust already shattered
Witt says the actions of some of the federal agents in the Twin Cities over these past several weeks have damaged her community.
“The reputation of all law enforcement — local, state, federal — is tarnished by the behavior of some,” she observed.
Witt added, with visible frustration, that complaints about federal conduct have reached her office, as she referenced a stack of constituent emails and call logs next to her.
“We’ve seen it. And it’s ridiculous. It hurts their reputation, and it hurts ours.”
Witt posed this question: “What happens to the good cops? The ones doing everything right who now get blasted for something they didn’t do?”
She added, “When Operation Surge is done, it’s going to be local authorities who have to clean up this mess.”
Homan has said he’s working on a plan for a drawdown of federal agents in Minnesota, but Witt said she has yet to see evidence of that.
“We are robbing them of their futures”
After the Columbia Heights School District closed for a day over a credible threat, Witt spoke not as a sheriff, but as a mother. Her voice tightened as she described what her own daughter, who works as a special education assistant teacher in that district, has witnessed.
“We talk about trauma all the time — and here we are,” she said. “Haven’t we learned anything?”
According to the school district, at least six students have been detained by federal immigration authorities since the surge began in December, including Liam Ramos. The five year old Ecuadorian preschooler was held for more than a week with his father at an immigration facility in south Texas after being arrested by ICE agents before a federal judge ordered his return over the weekend.
“We are traumatizing these kids. We are robbing them of their futures,” Witt said. “We know that Minnesota – we have fallen further behind. This is the last thing we need. Our kids should go to school and feel safe. Our kids need to know that they’re going to come home and their families are safe. They should not be having the worries of adults at their young age. It’s going to have an everlasting impact on them.”
Witt added that many schools in her county have requested assistance and additional patrols around facilities.
Pressed on whether federal officials were listening to the concerns of parents and families, Witt offered bluntly: “If they are, I haven’t seen it. All I hear is, ‘This is your fault — blue cities, blue states.’ No — it’s everybody’s fault.”
Critics have accused Witt of siding with ICE by deploying deputies and the National Guard near the federal courthouse. Witt pushed back.
“The Whipple building is my primary patrol area,” she said. “That’s my job.” The building houses federal offices including an immigration court and ICE detention facilities.
She added that her presence has been about de-escalation and protecting protesters’ First Amendment rights.
“People asked in 2020, ‘Where were the police?’ Now we’re there — and people accuse us of helping ICE.”
Still, she said many residents have expressed gratitude to her for keeping protests peaceful. “We protect life, property, and liberty — even when people are angry,” Witt remarked.
Figuring out what has to change
Looking ahead, Witt wants the “right people” at the table — including the U.S. attorney from Minneapolis — to clarify what’s legal, what isn’t, and what must realistically change to enable a drawdown of federal agents from the Twin Cities. She’s also reached out to sheriffs across the country and to former federal prosecutors to reconcile conflicting legal interpretations, acting as a behind-the-scenes conduit for change.
“My top priority is to keep my community safe — period,” Witt said.
She acknowledged that her city still feels the impact of George Floyd’s killing by Minneapolis police in May 2020, and admitted that she worries constantly about the repercussions of a drawn out, aggressive federal surge.
“If this continues, kids will grow up thinking fear of law enforcement is normal,” she said. “That cannot be the norm.”
