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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday invited President Donald Trump to visit the state to “see our values in action” amid a contentious back-and-forth between the pair over the presence of federal immigration officers in and around Minneapolis.
“Mr. President, Minnesota invites you to see our values in action,” a statement from Walz reads on X. “Come see how communities from all walks of life are working together, and how the spirit of this state refuses to be defined by division of fear.”
“I invite you to join me, and others in our community to help restore calm and order and reaffirm that true public safety comes from shared purpose, trust and respect,” he added.
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The invitation came as federal officers continue to conduct operations targeting criminal illegal immigrants amid clashes with agitators that authorities said impede the apprehension of illegal immigrants convicted of various crimes, including murder and child sexual abuse.
Walz, as well as Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and other local Democratic officials, have condemned the enforcement operations and have called for Trump to withdraw federal authorities.
The governor’s invitation is a sharp change of tone from his past remarks, in which he has said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers have acted uncontrollably and that the enforcement surge is “a war that’s being waged against Minnesota.”
“You’re seeing that we have a ridiculous surge of apparently 2,000 people not coordinating with us, that are for a show of cameras,” Walz told reporters in Minneapolis earlier this month, a day after announcing he was ending his campaign for a third term.
Walz previously asked Trump to “turn the temperature down” following a warning from the president that he could invoke the Insurrection Act over unrest in Minnesota. The White House accused him of engaging in rhetoric while protecting criminal illegal immigrants.
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On Tuesday, Walz and other top Democratic officials in the state, including Frey and state Attorney General Keith Ellison, were served grand jury subpoenas for allegedly conspiring to hinder ICE operations in Minnesota.
In his post on X, the governor noted that Minnesota won’t be drawn into political theater, while criticizing the Justice Department investigation into the fatal shooting of Renee Good, who was shot and killed by an ICE agent earlier this month while allegedly trying to ram her vehicle into him.
“It is a partisan distraction,” Walz said of the probe.
Walz added the Minnesotans are more concerned with public safety rather than “baseless legal tactics aimed at intimidating public servants standing shoulder to shoulder with their community.”
He said children are afraid to go to school and small businesses are hurting amid the ICE raids.
“A mother is dead,” he said, referring to Good. “The people responsible have yet to be held accountable. That’s where the energy of the federal government should be directed; toward restoring trust, accountability, and real law and order, not political retaliation.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House.
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