A veteran journalist confronted a Republican congressman on "CNN This Morning" over the violent crackdown by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis.
Rep. Mike Haridopolos (R-FL) appeared Thursday morning on the program and justified the officers' actions, which have included the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good and other violent acts.
"Well, first of all, it's atragic situation, what'shappening in general in Minnesota, and the genesis of myopinion is the fact that you youhave a criminal element that waslet out of jail back into thecommunity," Haridopolos said. "It's incrediblyfrustrating."
Host Audie Cornish pressed the GOP lawmaker to explain who he was talking about, and Haridopolos argued that ICE was needed because the state and local authorities had failed to apprehend violent criminal and sexual predators.
"We have sanctuary citiesright now that allow thesecriminals to run in the streets, and the goal should be toextract them," Haridopolos said. "This is the samething done under Republican and Democrat prior administrations, but you have these issues whereyou have a mayor who is sopolitically, let's just say,involved, that he thinks it's agood idea to put these folks inthe middle of all this. We'rejust talking with yourpanelists. My father is a formerFBI agent. I always respectedlaw enforcement, in general. Butthe other part of this is ifthere's a situation where a lawenforcement officer is in theprocess of arresting a violentcriminal, the last thing youwant to be is in the middle ofthat action."
"Would your father have used achokehold on people or shot at awindow at 90 degrees?" Cornish interjected.
"Well, I think well, first ofall, let's focus on why they'rethere," Haridopolos replied. "They're there becausethe law enforcement in thatcommunity will not keep a personin jail who's committed aviolent act or a sexual actagainst a child. These are lookat the arrest records."
The congressman then met pushback from another panelist.
"That's not who ICE isactually arresting these days," pointed out journalist Garrett Graff. "You know, I think one of thethings that is important is ICEis a 20-year-old agency at this point. It was able to dothis work under Republican and Democratic administrations, eventhe first Trump administration,while maintaining the morallegitimacy with the public.There is something that haschanged in this last year in theway that ICE is sort of randomlygrabbing people off the street."
Cornish then gave Haridopolos a chance to respond, and asked whether he saw a difference between the way ICE was operating now compared to the past, and he argued that the officers themselves were the victims in this situation.
"Well, I think what we'reseeing a lot of is you're seeinga lot of paid protesters who arecreating a lot of this chaos,again, with the tragicsituation," Haridopolos said. "I think it is tragicwhat happened to that young ladywho was killed in recently in Minneapolis, but she putherself right in the middle ofthe action. I think that is thething. Theother thing that I also thinkabout these ICE agents who weredoing their job, they havehusbands and wives who areworried about them when they goto work, and they're seeingthat people are doing all typesof things towards them. They'recreating this chaotic situation, and I would hope that the mayor might take a differentstance."
Cornish noted that Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has repeatedly called for protesters to stay home and tried to keep the peace in his city, and Haridopolos faulted him for wearing after Good's killing.
"Last week he used the big thebig four-letter word talkingabout, to gin people up," Haridopolos said, and Cornish asked which word he meant. "Oh, I think we all know."