The Daily – Episode Summary Title: Can Trump Force Blue Cities to Cooperate With ICE?
Date: February 2, 2026
Host: Michael Barbaro
Guests: Hamid Al Aziz (immigration reporter), Ernesto Londono (Minneapolis-based journalist)

Overview

This episode explores the ongoing standoff between the Trump administration and blue cities such as Minneapolis over cooperation with ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) in detaining and deporting immigrants. Focusing on the history of federal-local law enforcement cooperation, the evolution of sanctuary policies, and the political and legal challenges facing local leaders, the episode examines whether federal pressure can force local officials to comply – and at what cost.

Key Discussion Points

1. Trump’s Latest Push and Tom Homan’s Role

• [00:41] – [01:19]
  • Tom Homan, Trump’s “border czar,” recently traveled to Minneapolis, urging local officials to cooperate with ICE in exchange for a reduction in federal law enforcement presence.
  • Tom Homan: “I'm asking them to be cops working with the cops to help us take criminal aliens off the street... draw down the number of people we have here.”
  • The heart of the episode: can the administration force blue cities to comply, and why is this so fraught?

2. Historical Context: Cooperation to Resistance

• [02:21] – [06:33]
  • Hamid Al Aziz outlines the evolution from routine cooperation between local jails and ICE during the Obama administration to the current resistance.
  • Obama’s era: Fingerprints of every jail inmate ping a federal database, alerting ICE. Local jails frequently honored ICE “detainers” (requests to hold inmates for extra time).
  • Quote: (Tom Homan, [05:37]) “There was a time when I was a street agent... just go out and arrest aliens because they're here in violation law... At the same time, I'm arresting this person that's here illegally but maybe hasn't committed another crime. There's a child predator walking out of state prison because we didn't have presence in all the jails across the country.”
  • Homan emphasized prioritizing dangerous criminals and praised the efficiency of jail-based removals.

3. Rise of Sanctuary Policies

• [06:35] – [11:43]
  • Backlash grows as Obama is labeled “deporter in chief.” Cities seek to shield immigrants, launching “sanctuary” policies limiting ICE’s jail access.
  • Inspired by churches, sanctuary policies spread into local governments, emphasizing the importance of separating local law enforcement from federal immigration.
  • Lawsuits against localities for illegal ICE detentions increase risk for local governments.
  • Quote: (Hamid, [07:56]) “One is the idea that immigrants in a community will feel more willing to come forward to local law enforcement... because they know that local law enforcement is not working with ICE.”
  • Federal government tries new tactics: Offers notification, not mandatory holds.

4. Trump Era: Entrenchment and Alienation

• [11:43] – [15:42]
  • With Trump’s election, local resistance hardens. California enacts statewide sanctuary policy, and cooperation is minimized even further.
  • Quote: (Homan, [13:32]) “For every person that I can arrest in a county jail in a sanctuary city, means that a law enforcement officer has to knock on the door of a home to arrest somebody that has a criminal history when they could have arrested him in the safety and security and privacy of a county jail.”
  • Administration’s lawsuit to overturn California’s policy fails; access shrinks even more.

5. The Political and Legal Landscape in Minneapolis

• [18:09] – [29:12]
  • Ernesto Londono reports from Minneapolis, focusing on Hennepin County Jail overseen by Sheriff Dawanna Witt, the only facility in Minnesota with a clear non-cooperation policy.
  • The political stakes are high: Witt was elected during the George Floyd aftermath, on a wave of anti-Trump and pro-immigrant sentiment. A shift towards ICE cooperation could be politically costly.
  • Quote: (Londono, [20:15]) “The Hennepin county jail had a policy where they actually allowed ICE agents to keep a tiny little office in the facility. It was like the equivalent of a broom closet.”
  • Political changes shifted this: The previous sheriff lost re-election largely over cooperation with ICE, and the new sheriff ended jail cooperation.
  • Legal complexity: State prisons must cooperate with ICE; local jails have discretion. Some counties faced lawsuits and payouts for over-detaining at ICE’s request.
  • Sheriff Witt, while able to alter policy, is under immense pressure from both sides but maintains public silence, only calling the recent discussions with Homan “candid and constructive” ([25:53]).
  • Officials and advocates stress there is no guarantee greater ICE-jail cooperation would actually reduce the federal presence or raids in Minneapolis.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Tom Homan (00:54): “I didn't ask him to be immigration officers. I'm asking them to be cops working with the cops to help us take criminal aliens off the street.”
• Hamid Al Aziz (05:58): “We're prioritizing the types of people we're arresting. We're going after the worst of the worst. And we're not just going out there willy nilly picking up people.”
• Michael Barbaro (07:13): “This idea literally emerges from churches’ decisions to turn their sanctuaries into a place that protects undocumented immigrants… eventually it becomes an urban legal movement…”
• Tom Homan (13:32): “For every person that I can arrest in a county jail in a sanctuary city means that a law enforcement officer has to knock on the door of a home to arrest somebody that has a criminal history…”
• Ernesto Londono (19:55): “They actually allowed ICE agents to keep a tiny little office in the facility. It was like the equivalent of a broom closet.”
• Ernesto Londono (29:12): “There’s absolutely no guarantee that if you make this gesture… that this would all go away… It’s hard to overstate how little trust exists currently between elected officials in the state and the Trump administration on these issues.”

Key Segment Timestamps

• 00:41: Introduction of episode theme and Tom Homan’s Minneapolis trip
• 02:21: Hamid traces 15 years of ICE-local cooperation
• 06:35: Rise of sanctuary cities, legal and community concerns
• 11:43: How Trump era hardened sanctuary stances
• 13:32: Homan’s safety arguments for jail access
• 18:09: Ernesto Londono details the Minneapolis/Hennepin County situation
• 19:55: The “broom closet” ICE office in Hennepin jail
• 25:53: Sheriff Witt’s delicate political position and ambiguous response
• 29:12: Lack of guarantees for local compliance leading to federal drawdown

Tone and Language

The episode maintains a deeply reported, conversational, and empathetic tone, blending in policy analysis with on-the-ground reporting and historical perspective. The reporters emphasize nuance and the dilemmas faced by public officials, many of whom are caught between federal pressure and local political realities.

Takeaway

The episode reveals that while the Trump administration is pressuring blue city officials to cooperate with ICE, the legal, political, and historical barriers to such cooperation are formidable. Local leaders, particularly in places like Minneapolis, face lawsuits, community backlash, and no certainty that cooperation would reduce federal enforcement actions. The battle over ICE cooperation is not only about policy, but about trust, community relations, and the fundamental limits of federal power over local government.