Walz and Frey Released 480 Plus Rapists and Murderers: Kristi Noem [WATCH]

January 21, 2026

During a televised exchange with Greta Van Susteren, Kristi Noem criticized Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for what she described as a failure to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, arguing that state and local officials released hundreds of dangerous criminals back onto the streets rather than turning them over to the Department of Homeland Security.

Noem said federal authorities maintain systems designed to identify individuals with criminal histories, including those convicted multiple times or charged with crimes either in the United States or abroad.

She said many of those individuals are already being held in state or local custody, but cooperation from local officials has been lacking.

“Well, we have a national targeting center that identifies those who have committed crimes so they’ve done something in this country or in their home country that has been criminal charges against them, or they’ve been convicted many times,” Noem said.

“These individuals are in jails or prisons in some of our states already that we just want those local law enforcement officers to turn over to us.”

Noem said she and federal officials have specifically asked Walz and Frey to provide custody of individuals already jailed for serious crimes. She said those requests have been ignored, resulting in the release of violent offenders.

“For example, one of the things we’ve asked Governor Walz and Mayor Frey is to give us just the criminals you have in jail,” Noem said.

“They’ve released 490 murderers and rapists and drug traffickers onto their streets, rather than just give them to us. And that’s what I don’t understand.”

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Van Susteren noted that identifying such individuals can be complicated by a lack of reliable documentation.

“You know, some of them, they’ll have multiple names,” Van Susteren said.

“Yes,” Noem replied.

Van Susteren expanded on the challenge, pointing to the absence of reliable records.

“Which is, it was a big problem if you come in illegally, don’t necessarily have a social security card, you don’t have a passport,” Van Susteren said.

“There’s no database. There’s no database back in your home country because it’s a country we’re not friendly with.”

Noem agreed and added that some individuals provide false information or evade legal requirements after entering the country.

“Yeah, or they’ve lied on their paperwork to come in, and then they’ve overstayed and not shown up for their immigration court hearings,” Noem said.

“They’ve been notified, and then they’ve run into DUIs other incidents.”

She emphasized that federal enforcement operations focus on individuals with documented criminal histories and that procedures used during those operations are consistent with long-standing law enforcement practices.

“So what we’re doing is targeting those who have committed criminal acts,” Noem said.

Noem explained that when federal agents execute arrests connected to criminal suspects, they question others present in the location to establish identity, describing the practice as routine law enforcement procedure.

“But if they’re if we show up and we’re going after a TDA member in an apartment, and they’re in an apartment with 12 other people, we’re going to ask those other people who they are, what their identity is, just like we would any other law enforcement operation,” Noem said.

She said such practices are not new and have been used under multiple administrations.

“I think that’s what people don’t know, is that we’re doing the same thing that law enforcement has done for years under this administration, the Biden administration, all of them, we haven’t changed what we do in these types of situations,” Noem said.