Tom Homan slams Keith Ellison amid ICE dispute: 'Federal law is always going to trump state law'

WASHINGTON, DC: Border Czar Tom Homan unloaded on Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, brushing off threats to investigate and prosecute ICE agents as nonsense.

Speaking with Newsmax host Rob Schmitt, Homan didn’t bother sugarcoating it. “They don't know what the hell they're talking about. Federal law is always going to trump state law,” Homan said, “Look, impeding ICE officers, interfering with ICE officers is a felony.”

Homan’s remarks were sparked by Ellison’s claim that Minnesota has the authority to investigate federal immigration actions. That argument came following a fatal ICE shooting in Minneapolis that sparked protests across the state.

Shooting sparks a federal-state showdown

The demonstrations came to a head after the January 7 shooting death of Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old Minneapolis resident and mother of three, during an ICE enforcement operation near Portland Avenue and 34th Street.

The ICE agent involved, Jonathan Ross, fired the fatal shots during the encounter. Federal authorities say Good attempted to run over Ross with her vehicle, prompting him to use deadly force in self-defense. Video footage shows the agent stepping aside before firing at least three shots from the side of the car.

Minnesota officials, however, have publicly questioned that account. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called the incident “an agent recklessly using power that resulted in somebody dying.”

Gov. Tim Walz added, “Because of the federal move, it feels very, very difficult that we will get a fair outcome. And I say that only because people in positions of power have already passed judgment.”

Ellison digs in

Ellison has gone all-in defending the state’s position. He announced a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security over the expanded ICE presence under “Operation Metro Surge.”

Ellison accused the Trump administration of singling out Minnesota for political reasons and labeled the operation “unjust and unconstitutional." “The state has every right to investigate this matter and prosecute this matter,” he said in a clip played during Homan’s interview.

Ellison has also vowed to resist federal pressure for local cooperation with immigration enforcement. “We’re going to devote the resources of our state to our state business, not immigration business. That’s their business. We’re going to do our business," he declared in a video post.

He doubled down by arguing local law enforcement has no obligation to assist federal immigration efforts. “It’s not the job of local law enforcement to carry out the dictates of the Trump administration,” Ellison said. “In fact, they’ve tried this before when they were in power, and they lost just about all the time they were in court, when they tried to coerce states into being their little ‘deputies.’”

Ellison stressed that Minnesota should focus on its own public safety priorities, not federal immigration enforcement. 

Tom Homan fires back

Homan wasn’t fazed by the commentary. During his Newsmax appearance, he reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to aggressive enforcement and accused critics of spreading misinformation.

“Since January, a whole past year, the left has accused ICE of raiding hospitals or raided elementary schools... there's been no incident where we ever raided an elementary school, a hospital or a church. But look who is raiding the churches—it was actually them,” he said.

Homan also boasted about deportation numbers, saying the administration is delivering exactly what it promised. “The President is keeping his promise to American people to run the biggest deportation operation in history of this nation. We already have record numbers. We're already broke every year's record in past,” he said.

As for the protests in Minnesota, Homan suggested they may have backfired. “What did they achieve? They've achieved nothing because ICEs are actually achieve one thing—we are doubling resources in Minnesota,” he said.

He made it clear enforcement isn’t slowing down. “We're not going to stop what we're doing. We'll be out there tonight, won't be out tomorrow, gonna go out every day, take them bad people off the street.”

The border czar even took a personal swipe at Ellison, saying the attorney general “should be under investigation for a couple different reasons.” 

On the shooting itself, Homan urged restraint. “It’d be unprofessional to comment on what I think happened in that situation. Let the investigation play out and hold people accountable based on the investigation,” he said.

But he also hinted that Agent Ross may push back legally against online attacks. “I think you may see him take action... I seen a post this morning... with his picture, wanted for murder. It's beyond the pale,” Homan added.