Minnesota Republican Quits Governor’s Race in Stunning Video Trashing His Own Party Over ICE’s Recent Conduct

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A Republican gubernatorial candidate in Minnesota dropped his campaign as a direct response to the way the Trump administration has carried out its immigration enforcement.

On Monday morning, Republican candidate Chris Madel posted a 10-minute video on X/Twitter announcing his decision. He explained that although he was initially supportive of the Trump administration’s mission to remove violent criminals from communities in the state, the recent actions of ICE have displayed “retribution” on U.S. citizens instead.

Madel continued:

I cannot support the national Republicans’ stated retribution on the citizens of our state, nor can I count myself a member of a party that would do so. I support the originally stated goals of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Operation Metro Surge, in locating and deporting the worst of the worst from our state. And I’ve seen many examples of ICE arresting non-U.S. citizens in Minnesota convicted of serious crimes, including murder, rape, and child sexual assault. No reasonable person should want these people here, and I am glad that they are gone.

But Operation Metro Surge has expanded far beyond its stated focus on true public safety threats. United States citizens, particularly those of color, live in fear. United States citizens are carrying papers to prove their citizenship. That’s wrong. ICE has authorized its agents to raid homes using a civil warrant that need only be signed by a border patrol agent. That’s unconstitutional, and it’s wrong. Weaponizing criminal investigations against political opponents is unconstitutional, regardless of who is in power.

Madel also accused national Republicans of making it “nearly impossible for a Republican to win a statewide election in Minnesota,” calling the ICE operation in the state an “unmitigated disaster.” His decision came two days after ICE agents shot and killed 37-year-old Alex Pretti .

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