5 Nov 2026 5:32 p.m. · Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has condemned sanctuary politicians in Minnesota for refusing to honor a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainer for an illegal alien from Somalia whose criminal history includes aggravated assault and drug trafficking.
On October 24, ICE lodged a detainer asking Minnesota officials not to release Mustafa Abdirahman Abdi from the Hennepin County Jail in Minneapolis. His criminal history includes convictions for aggravated assault, assault, aggravated trafficking of schedule drugs (cocaine), unlawful possession of schedule drugs, unlawful furnishing of schedule drugs, and trafficking prison contraband, as well as arrests for burglary, larceny, and resisting an officer.
According to DHS, sanctuary politicians in Minnesota refused to honor the detainer and released Abdi onto the streets.
"Governor Tim Walz and his fellow sanctuary politicians have turned the state of Minnesota into a hotbed of illegal alien crime," said DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin. "When ICE lodged a detainer for an illegal alien convicted for aggravated assault and drug trafficking, Minneapolis sanctuary politicians refused to cooperate and RELEASED him. Governor Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and other heartless sanctuary politicians are putting American lives at risk for political gain. DHS is calling on sanctuary politicians to put an end to this recklessness before any more lives are lost."
DHS said Abdi illegally entered the country at an unknown date and location and was arrested by ICE in November 2020. Although an Immigration Judge issued Abdi a final order of removal on April 2, 2021, the Biden Administration released him into the country later that same month, according to the department.
DHS also cited other recent cases in Minnesota, including the October conviction of Alejandro Rojas Garcia, an illegal alien from Mexico, on charges of attempted production of child pornography following an ICE Homeland Security Investigations probe. The department said Governor Walz and the Minnesota Clemency Review Commission granted pardons in June to Tou Lue Vang, convicted of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, and Jai Vang, whose record includes robbery convictions; ICE deported Tou Lue Vang to Laos in July.
DHS is calling on sanctuary politicians to end the practice of refusing ICE detainers.
Politics and Government Law Enforcement State Governments Federal Government Legal Social Issues U.S. Department of Homeland Security U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement sanctuary jurisdiction Minnesota Tim Walz Markwayne Mullin illegal immigration