Jacob Frey spent four years building a sanctuary city economy on the backs of illegal immigrants, shielding criminals from ICE, and lecturing America about compassion.
Then ICE showed up.
Now the mayor of Minneapolis is demanding $203 million from the very federal government he spent years obstructing – and Vance just made clear that America isn't paying it.
Vance Fires Back on Reparations as Operation Metro Surge Numbers Tell the Real Story
In a February 21st interview with Fox News host Lara Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance put the entire immigration debate into a single sentence that Democrats have no answer for.
"It's not that hard to enforce the immigration laws," Vance said. "It just takes a little bit of political willpower."
He was right – and the numbers prove it.
DHS reports that since President Trump took office, border encounters have dropped 92% from the Biden administration's peak of 370,883 monthly encounters. Border Patrol apprehensions now average under 10,000 per month – a number DHS describes as unmatched in modern border history.
Vance credited President Trump directly, echoing the president's State of the Union line: "It turns out we didn't need a bunch of new laws. We just needed a new president."
Frey's Sanctuary City Tab Hits $203 Million and He Wants Trump to Pay It
While the rest of America benefits from record-low border crossings, Mayor Frey deliberately released nearly 470 criminal illegal aliens back onto Minneapolis streets rather than honor ICE detainers. DHS documented the consequences – including the killer of Victoria Eileen Harwell, an Ecuadorian national who drove drunk and killed her, then was released from Hennepin County Jail twice despite active ICE detainers before finally being arrested.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin put it plainly: Frey's sanctuary policies "directly RELEASE criminal illegal aliens from jails and put them back on the streets to victimize more innocent Americans."
Now Frey wants to be paid for the chaos he created.
His $203 million figure includes $81 million in claimed business losses, $47 million in lost wages, and $38 million in unrealized construction value – all because ICE enforced federal law in a city that spent years making that enforcement as difficult as possible.
Vance's response was blunt: "On behalf of the American people, we'd like reparations from them for allowing Somali fraudsters to steal billions of dollars from the American taxpayer."
Why Every Sanctuary City Mayor Is Watching Minneapolis Right Now
What happened in Minneapolis is the blueprint for every sanctuary city in America – and every Democratic mayor knows it.
Walz and Frey obstructed federal enforcement, shielded criminal aliens, and when the bill came due, pointed at Trump. Vance named the contrast directly: in cities that cooperated with ICE, enforcement went smoothly. The chaos in Minneapolis was a political choice, not a federal overreach.
The results Trump's approach produced are hard to argue with. Murders dropped 20% in 2025 – and Vance attributed a significant part of that to removing violent criminal illegal aliens from American streets.
Frey can demand all the reparations he wants.
America isn't writing the check.
Sources:
- "Vance: We Would Like Reparations From Minnesota 'For Allowing Somali Fraudsters to Steal Billions,'" RealClearPolitics, February 21, 2026.
- "Vance: 'It Really Is the Case That You Just Needed a New President,'" RealClearPolitics / Fox News, February 21, 2026.
- Secretary Kristi Noem, "Border Crossings Once Again at a Record Low in November 2025," U.S. Department of Homeland Security, December 4, 2025.
- "Mayor Frey's Sanctuary Policies Release Criminal Illegal Aliens From Jails Back onto Minneapolis Streets," U.S. Department of Homeland Security, January 14, 2026.
- Neil Munro, "Minneapolis Mayor: Law Enforcement Wrecks My Sanctuary City Economy," Breitbart, February 4, 2026.
- Tim O'Brien, "Thanks, Jacob Frey: His Sanctuary City Policy Slams Minneapolis with $200 Million Cost," PJ Media, February 16, 2026.