Tafoya blames Kristi Noem, Minnesota leadership for ICE rollout

Minnesota Republican Senate candidate Michele Taforya on Sunday slammed her state’s leadership as well as former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem over the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions in the North Star State.

“I’ve already said very publicly that I thought the ICE rollout here in Minnesota was very poorly handled, and Kristi Noem was fired appropriately,” Tafoya told NewsNation’s Chris Stirewalt on “The Hill Sunday.”

“I’ll also give an F to the leadership here in Minnesota, however, for playing a part in that and not letting our local law enforcement help protect everyone. But I did think that was poorly handled, and I would say so,” she added.

In mid-February , White House border czar Tom Homan announced that Trump administration immigration crackdown efforts were set to end in Minnesota, following thousands of arrests and the January killings of two U.S. citizens, Alex Pretti and Renee Good, by federal agents.

The two deaths at the hands of federal immigration authorities in Minneapolis led to mass backlash against the Trump administration. Kristi Noem, the former Homeland Security secretary who was later replaced in her role, faced heat over the immigration efforts in the North Star State at the time.

The Republican Party more broadly has taken heat for its handling of immigration policy, according to fresh polling .

In a recent New York Times/Siena University poll, 52 percent of respondents backed Democrats’ performance on the issue of immigration over Republicans, while 45 percent backed Republicans over Democrats.