Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara tried to reassure the city’s immigrant communities during a press conference on Tuesday. Responding to concerns over President Donald Trump’s racist new policy targeting Somali residents, O’Hara emphasized that his department’ would follow the law and would not share information improperly with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
O’Hara: From a public safety perspective, the fear of people to call the police in a time of need is something that harms everyone. We don’t need that. If people are able to prey on certain people in our community, to victimize them, to rob them because they think those folks are less likely to call the police, that makes everyone in this city less safe. It does absolutely nothing for public safety.
So I just need to be clear. As our mayor has stated, the Minneapolis Police Department does not work with federal law enforcement for the purpose of conducting immigration enforcement. We don’t provide information to federal immigration authorities. We don’t ask people about their immigration status. Our mission is clear: to protect life, to uphold the law, and to maintain safety for all people in our communities.
