ICE arrests surge in sanctuary states blocking DHS cooperation, calm elsewhere

States that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement force ICE into the streets searching for subjects, fueling avoidable unrest from agitators who are absent in places where local authorities have a working relationship with DHS, officials in several states told Fox News Digital.

Their comments follow a New York Times analysis showing that ICE “at large” arrests — operations conducted in communities rather than prisons — have increased most sharply in states that prohibit local authorities from honoring immigrant detainees or working with federal agents.

The analysis named California, Illinois and New York as the most common sites for at-large arrests, citing laws that prevent local authorities from cooperating or turning prisoners over to federal immigration law enforcement.

States with at least 90 percent of arrests at large include Illinois, New York, Washington, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and Alaska, according to the newspaper.

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Protesters gather in front of the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul during a demonstration against Immigration and Customs Enforcement, left; an ICE agent is pictured, right. (Abbie Parr/AP; Victor Blue/Getty Images)

“If Democrats simply honored detainees, ICE would take illegal aliens back to jail, where they are already in custody,” Republican strategist Tim Murtaugh noted of the findings.

“But since that’s not the case, ICE has to find illegal aliens back in the community after they’re released,” he said. “ICE didn’t bring chaos. Chaos brought ICE.”

Prosecutors and state legislators not mentioned in the analysis agreed; there is no smoke in their jurisdictions because there is no fire.

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“Law enforcement works best when we work together, focusing on the mission and not limited to what it says on our badges,” Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman told Fox News Digital.

“As threats increase, zealous collaboration between federal, state and local law enforcement is necessary to keep American families safe.”

Coleman said cooperation with ICE in Kentucky helps maintain peace and avoid the kind of violent scenes seen in Minneapolis and elsewhere.

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Kentucky AG Russell Coleman. (Marcus Dorsey/Getty Images)

He said this dynamic “could work in other states as well.”

And that’s the case, according to Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, who said the Yellowhammer State is proud to “stand united with ICE and all federal law enforcement partners.”

“[We share a] mission to remove dangerous criminal aliens, child predators and human traffickers from our streets,” Marshall said, contrasting the absence of such unrest in Montgomery and Mobile compared to Minneapolis.

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“You must be truly sick and deranged to consider yourself a leader while actively welcoming predators like this into your cities and states. This will never happen in Alabama.”

Virginia, however, could become a test case for what would happen after a radical change in such a policy, current and former officials said.

Former Governor Glenn Youngkin entered into a 287(g) agreement in Virginia, which allows cooperation between state law enforcement and ICE to identify and transfer criminal illegal immigrants. He was supported by Republican state officials, including former Attorney General Jason Miyares, who welcomed ICE to the Old Dominion and collaborated as often as possible.

Miyares said in a statement that “Virginia’s streets became less safe with the stroke of a pen,” after Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger reversed Youngkin’s action this month after taking office.

“This is a public safety disaster for the Commonwealth. Mark my words, there will be Virginians robbed, raped and murdered as a result of this anti-public safety executive order. No one should be surprised.”

Virginia House Minority Leader Terry Kilgore agreed, telling Fox News Digital that he could “absolutely” imagine scenes of unrest at home in the future now that DHS is no longer welcome.

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Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall testifies during the confirmation hearing of Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Al Drago/Getty Images)

“With local law enforcement [cooperation]DHS can identify and just send in a small team,” Kilgore said, adding that this dynamic often happened under Youngkin when ICE was allowed to surgically pursue MS-13 gangsters thanks to Richmond’s cooperation.

“I would encourage [Spanberger] rethink this because it makes Virginians less safe – period. “

Fox News Digital has contacted Spanberger for comment. Previously, she said “state and local law enforcement should not be forced to divert their limited resources to enforce federal civil immigration laws.”

Leaders in states where chaos erupted defended their position, with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison citing a “federal invasion of the Twin Cities and Minnesota.” [that] We have to stop.”

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California Attorney General Rob Bonta called the ICE-related unrest in Los Angeles part of a series of attacks on immigrant communities by President Donald Trump and said immigration enforcement operations were “not about security and justice” but “quotas” for DHS.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul previously called federal agents “occupiers” who “often violently interrogate residents” without a warrant or probable cause.