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Attorney General Pam Bondi is pressing Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to give the federal government access to the state’s voter rolls and public assistance records, escalating a confrontation with state leaders as tensions flare in Minneapolis following a second fatal shooting by federal immigration agents this month.
In a three-page letter sent Saturday, Bondi urged Minnesota to dismantle all sanctuary-style policies and “cooperate fully” with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Her demands include granting ICE access to local jails, honoring federal detention requests and turning over voter registration and public assistance data.
“I am confident that these simple steps will help bring back law and order to Minnesota and improve the lives of Americans,” Bondi wrote, accusing state officials of engaging in “anti-law enforcement rhetoric” that she said has endangered federal agents.
State officials reject demands
Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon responded sharply Sunday, flatly rejecting Bondi’s request.
“The answer to Attorney General Bondi’s request is no,” Simon said in a statement, calling the letter “an outrageous attempt to coerce Minnesota into giving the federal government private data on millions of U.S. citizens in violation of state and federal law.”
Simon said the request followed “repeated and failed attempts” by the Justice Department to pressure his office into releasing voter data, noting that the issue is already the subject of active litigation.
“Attorney General Bondi knows full well that the governor has no formal role in managing our elections or maintaining our voter registration system,” Simon said. “It is deeply disturbing that the U.S. attorney general would make this unlawful request a part of an apparent ransom to pay for our state’s peace and security.”
Immigration enforcement tied to data access
The letter marks a notable escalation by linking federal immigration enforcement directly to demands for election and benefits data.
Bondi said access to voter rolls is necessary to ensure Minnesota’s registration practices comply with federal law. The Justice Department has sought voter registration data from Minnesota and other states for months and sued Minnesota last year for access, though the effort has not previously been tied so explicitly to immigration enforcement.
Bondi also demanded records related to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, arguing that federal authorities need the data to investigate alleged fraud in Minnesota’s public assistance programs.
The Trump administration has increasingly focused on claims of fraud in Minnesota, though state officials have said existing oversight and cooperation mechanisms are already in place.
The letter comes amid mounting backlash to a federal immigration surge in Minnesota following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, 37, by federal agents in Minneapolis on Saturday. His death followed the earlier killing of Renee Good, who was shot by an ICE officer earlier this month.
Both shootings were captured on cellphone video and have fueled protests and legal challenges to what Democratic leaders have described as an “occupation” of the state.
The Trump administration has deployed an estimated 3,000 federal immigration agents to Minneapolis as part of what it calls a targeted enforcement operation. Minnesota officials say the scale and tactics of the operation have inflamed tensions and undermined public safety.
Walz’s office responded Sunday by calling on the administration to abandon what it described as coercive tactics and instead engage in talks to end the federal operation.
“This is not common sense, lawful immigration enforcement,” the governor’s office said in a statement. “That is not what this occupation is about. And it’s not what the attorney general’s letter is about.”
State corrections officials say Minnesota already cooperates with ICE, though the extent of cooperation varies by county. Minnesota is not formally designated a sanctuary state, but Minneapolis and several counties restrict local employees from assisting with federal immigration enforcement.
Bondi’s demands come as Democrats in Congress threaten to block Department of Homeland Security funding unless restrictions are placed on ICE’s enforcement practices. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has warned that Democrats could force a partial government shutdown if DHS funding moves forward without guardrails.
For Minnesota officials, the dispute has raised alarms about federal overreach, the politicization of voter data and the use of immigration enforcement as leverage.
As investigations into the recent shootings continue, state leaders say they expect further legal battles over both the federal operation and the administration’s attempts to access Minnesota’s data.
