ICE Arrest Of 650 Aliens In WV Proves Dems Create Chaos In MN

Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) just arrested nearly 700 illegal aliens in West Virginia with the help of local law enforcement, showing the stark contrast between state and local police supporting immigration enforcement and the Democrat-run catastrophe in Minnesota.

ICE announced Friday that it arrested 650 illegals, including those who allegedly engaged in child sex abuse, drug possession, endangering the welfare of children, and other offenses.

Teams from ICE Philadelphia performed the operation, deploying to six cities in West Virginia to arrest “hundreds of illegal aliens who present dangers to national security and risks to public safety, as well as those who entered the United States illegally or have otherwise undermined the integrity of U.S. immigration laws and border control efforts,” the press release states.

“When state and local law enforcement work with ICE, immigration enforcement is seamless — it all takes place behind closed doors between law enforcement professionals, and that’s why the public never hears about it,” ICE Director Todd M. Lyons told The Federalist. “On the other hand, when law enforcement agencies refuse to turn over public safety threats, it forces ICE to arrest criminal illegal aliens in public. These arrests are going to happen regardless, so for state and local police, it makes more sense to keep the public safe and conserve resources by working with us instead of against us.”

ICE utilized 287(g) partnerships, which allow the federal agency to delegate immigration enforcement to state and local authorities, under ICE supervision and training. That allows local police to identify and help remove illegals.

“The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office has just completed a two-week operation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” Jefferson County Sheriff Tom Hansen said in the press release. “The Sheriff’s Office was impressed with the professionalism and work ethic of the agents and how well they interacted with the citizens and local law enforcement officers.”

ICE arrested Chinese national Ling Yan (aka Yang Ning), who has been convicted of two counts of endangering the welfare of children. The agency said there is a final order for Ling Yan’s removal.

One man removed under Operation ICE Wall, which focuses on aliens driving commercial vehicles, was Indian national Sagar Singh, who had been cited for “numerous commercial vehicle infractions for operating an unsafe commercial vehicle,” ICE stated. ICE arrested more than 25 other illegal immigrants from Jan. 5 to Jan. 19 for similar reasons.

Illegal aliens with commercial driver’s licenses have caused the deaths of Americans, as they make unsafe decisions on the road and often do not speak English. As was widely reported in August 2025, Harjinder Singh, identified by DHS as an illegal immigrant from India, allegedly made an illegal U-turn, killing three Americans with his truck.

Another illegal alien from India, Jashanpreet Singh, also allegedly caused the deaths of three Americans and injured four others in a commercial driving accident in October. He was charged with three counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and a DUI.

Partap Singh, yet another illegal alien from India, caused a crash involving multiple vehicles with a commercial vehicle, gravely injuring a 5-year-old girl, according to DHS.

In its operation ICE had the support of the political leadership of West Virginia, including Gov. Patrick Morrisey, R-W. Va., who has decided to work with ICE instead of sowing discord, encouraging chaos, and pushing his citizens to put themselves in dangerous and sometimes fatal situations.

“I want to thank the men and women of ICE for their outstanding partnership with various state entities, including the State Police, and their tireless work here in West Virginia,” Morrisey said. “Through our collaboration under the 287(g) program, they have removed dangerous illegal immigrants from our communities and made our state safer for families and law-abiding citizens.”

Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., and many other Democrats in Minnesota, on the other hand, bear heavy responsibility both for the deaths of two Minnesotans — Renee Good and Alex Pretti — and also for putting the lives of federal law enforcement at risk, by encouraging doxxing, intimidation, and obstruction from violent leftists. Walz and Democrat Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey have summarily refused to allow state and local law enforcement to work with ICE, even to the point of refusing to answer emergency calls from off-duty federal officers surrounded by the violent mobs they have fomented, according to Vice President J.D. Vance.

Breccan F. Thies is the White House correspondent for The Federalist. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. As an investigative journalist, he previously covered education and culture issues for the Washington Examiner and Breitbart News. He holds a degree from the University of Virginia and is a 2022 Claremont Institute Publius Fellow. You can follow him on X: @BreccanFThies.