Minnesota Department of Corrections highlights false arrest claims by Homeland Security

Minnesota prison officials are continuing to push back against misleading claims and misinformation by the Department of Homeland Security.

A week after the Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC) commissioner held a press conference to call out federal misinformation related to immigration-related enforcement and arrests, state officials released evidence of 68 direct inmate transfers that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) claimed to have “arrested.”

RELATED: Minnesota prisons head calls out ICE misinformation on arrests, cooperation

ICE and DHS have repeatedly accused Minnesota and DOC of failing to cooperate with federal detainers and custody transfers, which DOC has denied. Monday’s announcement aimed to publicly prove DOC’s cooperation with federal authorities.

DOC Commissioner Paul Schnell has said his department has tried numerous times to connect with DHS to correct any misinformation and misunderstandings. However, Homeland Security has never responded, he said.

“Despite our best efforts to correct the record and engage directly with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, they continue to publicly repeat information that is inaccurate and misleading. This is no longer a simple misunderstanding,” Schnell said. “At best, DHS fundamentally misunderstands Minnesota’s correctional system. At a minimum, this reflects systemic data management inadequacies or incompetence as it relates to DHS tracking detainers and custody. At worst, it is pure propaganda. Numbers released without evidence to stoke fear rather than inform the public.”

In recent days, DOC also published a webpage with facts, videos and additional information focused on “combatting DHS misinformation.”

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS reached out to DHS for comment on DOC’s latest pushback but hasn’t yet heard back.
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