Minnesota Corrections Chief Says DHS Claims of Hundreds Freed From ICE Are 'Fundamentally False'

Minnesota Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell is publicly disputing the Department of Homeland Security’s assertion that state and local authorities are releasing hundreds of dangerous noncitizens instead of turning them over to ICE, calling the federal narrative 'fundamentally false' and 'propaganda, in many instances.' In an interview with CBS, Schnell said his department’s statewide survey found 301 people in prisons and jails with active ICE detainers—far below the 1,360 figure ICE’s Marcos Charles cited this week—and noted that 84 inmates were transferred directly from state prisons to ICE in 2025, in line with long‑standing state law and policy to honor detainers. Schnell said Minnesota has repeatedly asked DHS to reconcile the discrepancy and provide examples of missed hand‑offs but has received no documentation, while DHS responded only by reiterating its larger claim and pointing to a short list of six cases it says involved releases. He also emphasized that in some highlighted 'worst of the worst' cases, the state handed people to ICE and it was federal authorities who later chose to release them under supervision, underscoring that not every person on DHS’s public lists was 'released to the streets' by Minnesota. The clash deepens questions about the accuracy of DHS statistics being used to justify massive ICE surges and detention expansion, and about whether the department is overstating state non‑cooperation to score political points.