Minnesota Senate Race: ‘Rip ICE Apart’ Pledge Sparks Clash Between Tafoya and Flanagan

Republican Senate nominee Michele Tafoya said she and her Democratic opponent, Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, hold irreconcilable views on crime and immigration enforcement, criticizing Flanagan’s pledge to dismantle U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“Oh my goodness, we couldn’t be further apart on this,” Tafoya said in an interview.

“I’m concerned about protecting Minnesotans, about protecting our kids, our citizens that have lived here, fifth-generation families, all of them.”

Flanagan told supporters after winning the Democratic-Farmer-Labor primary this month: “We need to rip ICE apart and stop them from terrorizing our communities.” She has also said she wants to “fix our broken immigration system, secure the border, and create a real pathway to citizenship.”

Tafoya dismissed Flanagan’s call to “rip ICE apart” as empty rhetoric.

“I don’t even know exactly what she means by that,” Tafoya said. “It’s a piece of rhetoric that sounds really, I guess, cool to some people, but it makes no sense. And it doesn’t keep anybody safe.”

Tafoya said federal and local law enforcement agencies should work together.

“I think law enforcement wants to do its job here in Minnesota, and I think cooperation between federal and local law enforcement works better than anything,” Tafoya said. “And to try to separate them is foolish.”

The two are competing for the seat being vacated by Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., who is not seeking reelection. Flanagan, who has served as lieutenant governor since 2019, defeated Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., in the Aug. 11 primary. Tafoya, a former NFL sideline reporter for ABC, ESPN, and NBC, won the Republican nomination the same night. Minnesota has not elected a Republican to statewide office since 2006.

Tafoya also faulted the state’s handling of alleged gang threats against the Minnesota State Fair, which she said she has attended daily since it opened.

“We had to have police officers negotiate with them to stay away from the state fairgrounds,” Tafoya said. “That is absurd. Why are we negotiating with these people? If they show up and cause problems, arrest them.”