{"id":2641659,"date":"2026-08-07T05:35:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T09:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mike-lindell-turns-focus-to-selling-his-immigration-agenda-to-minnesotans\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T05:38:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T09:38:05","slug":"mike-lindell-turns-focus-to-selling-his-immigration-agenda-to-minnesotans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mike-lindell-turns-focus-to-selling-his-immigration-agenda-to-minnesotans\/","title":{"rendered":"Mike Lindell turns focus to selling his immigration agenda to Minnesotans"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmike-lindell-turns-focus-to-selling-his-immigration-agenda-to-minnesotans%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2641659&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Mike Lindell, the former CEO of My Pillow, announced that if he is elected Minnesota governor, his first action would be to hand over all illegal immigrants in state jails and prisons to ICE for deportation. Just before the Aug. 11 primaries, Lindell, endorsed by Trump, detailed plans to enforce federal immigration laws more strictly in Minnesota, including requiring county sheriffs to cooperate with ICE and prosecuting employers who hire illegal workers. he also proposed a six-month amnesty window for illegal immigrants to apply for work visas, a suggestion criticized by some on the right. Lindell highlighted that minnesota has many illegal immigrants incarcerated for serious crimes, and he intends to expedite their removal. He criticized the state&#8217;s current lack of cooperation with ICE and cited a case where a convicted sex offender was pardoned, allegedly to allow him to remain in the U.S. Lindell plans to crack down on illegal immigration, enforce strict protest laws, and address the economic and social pull factors attracting illegal immigrants. Polls show Lindell leading among Republican primary contenders, though the general election favors Democrat Amy Klobuchar.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>EXCLUSIVE \u2014<\/strong> The first action that former My Pillow CEO <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/mike-lindell\">Mike Lindell<\/a> plans to take if elected Minnesota governor is turning over all illegal immigrants in state jails and prisons to <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ice\">Immigration and Customs Enforcement<\/a> for deportation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Just days ahead of the state\u2019s primaries on Aug. 11, the Trump-endorsed Republican candidate shared a long list of ways he intends to help the Trump administration go after illegal immigrants in the blue state and rein in activism he said was allowed to get out of hand last winter, during a conversation with the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. <\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/4677700\/mike-lindell-trump-immigration-agenda-minnesota-governor\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Mike Lindell to unleash Trump\u2019s immigration agenda on Minnesota if elected governor<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/4678499\/marsha-blackburn-gop-tennessee-governor-primary\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Sen. Marsha Blackburn wins GOP nomination for Tennessee governor<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/4678015\/james-fishback-byron-donalds-sex-trafficking-allegation\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>James Fishback claims DOJ is investigating Byron Donalds for sex trafficking as department denies<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOn day one, here, take these and ship them out,\u201d Lindell said in a phone call, the same day he <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/4675528\/mypillow-mike-lindell-step-down-minnesota-governor-campaign\/\">stepped down<\/a> from his business to focus on his campaign. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to get them out of our state.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Minnesota\u2019s elected Democratic leaders have staunchly fought the Republican administration in Washington as ICE targeted the state, and the White House has gone after billions of dollars of fraud from state programs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the mind of Lindell, 65, the state has a long way to go, but he has a plan to make significant headway by alleviating the financial cost of holding illegal immigrants in prison and jail, forcing county sheriffs to cooperate with ICE, enforcing existing laws that pertain to protests, and jailing employers who hire illegal workers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The plan is a harsh crackdown on illegal immigration, unlike comments he made to the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> in a separate <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/search?q=washington+examiner+mike+lindell&#038;rlz=1C5GCEM_enUS1201US1208&#038;oq=washington+examiner+mike+lindell+&#038;gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIGCAEQRRhAMgYIAhBFGDwyBggDEEUYPDIGCAQQRRg80gEIMzc1OWowajeoAgCwAgA&#038;sourceid=chrome&#038;source=chrome.ob&#038;ie=UTF-8\">interview<\/a> last month. Lindell provoked criticism from figures on the MAGA right for his proposal, in which he proposed a six-month window, effectively an amnesty, in which illegal immigrants could apply for conditional work visas.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Department of Homeland Security has claimed Minnesota had 1,360 illegal immigrants incarcerated, a figure that Lindell pointed to as proof of the state\u2019s lack of cooperation with Washington in carrying out federal immigration laws.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe have 1,400 illegals in our prisons that have committed the most atrocious crimes ever,\u201d Lindell said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Minnesota Department of Corrections has <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/shorts\/4O17T6ICCEQ\">maintained<\/a> that it has only 200 people in custody whom ICE has requested to be detained through custody transfer.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lindell intended to give county sheriffs statewide not just permission but instruction to work with ICE and immediately involve the federal agency when they have arrested someone whose immigration status is in question.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Using a line that White House border czar Tom Homan has frequently used in interviews, Lindell noted that it would be far easier to let ICE make arrests of people already in jail or prison than not cooperate and leave them to find individuals with criminal histories in neighborhoods and communities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe big lie here is that, \u2018Oh, ICE comes in, they\u2019re going door to door, and every illegal in this country is going to get out,&#8217;\u201d Lindell said. \u201cThere\u2019s 50 million illegals. They\u2019re there to get the low-hanging, terrible illegals out, the ones that are the criminals, the felons. That\u2019s what they\u2019re coming for first.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cooperation between the state and Washington would help ICE avoid fatal encounters, such as the two deadly shootings of U.S. citizens who were on the street alongside federal officers in Minneapolis last January, he added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One way to address this issue going forward is to fully enforce what Lindell described as \u201csome of the strictest protest laws in the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m all for protesting, but you do not commit crimes while you\u2019re protesting,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2026 About eight, nine years ago, our officials let Black Lives Matter block off an eight-lane highway, 35-W. My employees couldn\u2019t even get to work from Minneapolis. These protest laws have to be enforced. They\u2019re already in place.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-26\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lindell pointed to a decision by the Minnesota Clemency Review Commission in June to pardon an illegal immigrant from Laos who had been convicted of repeatedly sexually assaulting a 10-year-old child as an example of the state\u2019s refusal to work with ICE. A DHS spokesperson said Gov. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/tim-walz\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"11523\">Tim Walz<\/a> (D-MN) pardoned him \u201cin an attempt to allow him to remain in our country.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt doesn\u2019t even make sense here why we\u2019re not cooperating with their government,\u201d Lindell said. \u201cThat\u2019s one of the reasons I\u2019m running for governor. We\u2019ve got to hit, we\u2019ve got to get rid of these guys, these Walz and [Attorney General] Keith Ellison and [Rep.] <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ilhan-omar\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"1223\">Ilhan Omar<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The big ticket to addressing illegal immigration is focusing on the pull factors or the reasons that immigrants come to the United States in the first place, as well as enforcing immigration and employment laws for American companies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cEmployers that are employing these illegals, are going to be put in jail,\u201d Lindell said. \u201cI\u2019m going to jail them immediately, and take away their business licenses. These employers that are enabling them and doing this and stealing from our, from our taxpayers, I\u2019m going to arrest every one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Walz chose not to seek reelection this year, but was not concerned by Trump\u2019s endorsement of Lindell and potentially seeing a Republican control the state.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe president wants loyalty,\u201d Walz said. \u201cSo, folks in Minnesota will \u2014 Republicans will respond on August 11, I guess \u2014 and everyone else will get a chance in November.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/immigration\/4676648\/mike-lindell-applauds-new-ice-detention-center-contract-minnesota-state-prisons\/\">MIKE LINDELL APPLAUDS NEW ICE DETENTION CENTER IN MINNESOTA: \u2018IT\u2019S A GOOD THING\u2019<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The latest July <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/kstp.com\/kstp-news\/top-news\/kstp-surveyusa-poll-lindell-tafoya-increase-their-election-leads-craig-ellison-margins-shrink\/\">poll <\/a>by SurveyUSA of likely voters in the GOP primary found that Lindell was the most favored candidate among the seven Republicans seeking the nomination. He has <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/polls\/minnesota-governor-election-polls-2026.html\">grown<\/a> his lead from 1 percentage point to 9 percentage points since January.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">General election polling pits Lindell against Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and shows Klobuchar with an <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/polls\/minnesota-governor-election-polls-2026.html\">advantage <\/a>over Lindell.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lindell vows to deport illegal inmates if elected governor<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2655,"featured_media":2641660,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/lindell-trump-immigration-agenda.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[3813,38887,5698,5894],"class_list":["post-2641659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-immigration","tag-mike-lindell","tag-minnesota","tag-politics"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/lindell-trump-immigration-agenda.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2641659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2655"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2641659"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2641659\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2641663,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2641659\/revisions\/2641663"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2641660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2641659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2641659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2641659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}