Double the fun? The Minneapolis Star Tribune commits a rare act of journalism this morning,
Minnesota ICE arrests have doubled under Trump.
For the first time ever, I recommend you read the whole thing. The Star Tribune draws on the work of the Deportation Data Project, housed at the University of California, Berkeley, with detailed data from September 1, 2023, to June 26, 2025. The Star Tribune catalogs these facts under Trump 2.0, versus the same time period from 2024,
- ICE arrests: 878 (up from 441)
- Post-arrest average deportation time: 28 days (down from 56)
- 1,800 deportations (St. Paul-zone covers MN, IA, NE, ND, SD)
- Most arrested have a criminal history (higher % than 2024)
- ICE detainer requests: up 34%
The Star Tribune also notes,
More than half of the immigrants arrested in Minnesota are from Mexico or Ecuador. Most of the rest come from Central or South America. That’s similar to the countries of origin of detainees arrested in 2024.
That exactly matches the underlying illegal immigrant population in the Upper Midwest. A certain mayor of Los Angeles that I could name claims that ICE arrests random persons off the street based solely on racial profiling through personal appearance.
A 2019 study based on census data showed that Mexicans and Latin Americans represent the majority of the state’s illegal immigrant population.
The most recent data available on the Minnesota branch of the U.S. Immigration Court reveals that Ecuador is the No. 1 provider of open cases, with Mexico a distant second. Latin America occupies 9 of the top 11 spots.
These demographics on criminality and nationality match my own study of more than 60 cases filed against illegal immigrants in federal district court in Minnesota so far during Trump 2.0.
The 1,800 deportations number sounds impressive until you consider that the backlog at the local Immigration Court branch stands at just under 40,000 (down from a 44,000 peak).
But we are moving in the correct direction.
