Keith Ellison denies Tom Homan ICE jail notification agreement claims

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said Thursday there is no new agreement with the federal government allowing county jails to notify Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of detainee release dates, disputing claims made earlier by border czar Tom Homan.

“I have not reached, and could not have reached, any agreement with him on how sheriffs share information with ICE about people incarcerated in their county jails,” Ellison said in a statement.

Ellison’s office said Minnesota law requires state prisons — not county jails — to notify federal authorities when a person without legal status is convicted of a crime.

County jails, on the other hand, are operated independently by sheriffs and counties, which themselves decide whether to cooperate with ICE release notifications or detention requests.

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Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has denied entering into an ICE deal with border czar Tom Homan. (Reuters/Tim Evans)

Earlier Thursday, Homan said Ellison told him that county jails could alert ICE of release dates for criminal risks to public safety.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment on the matter.

Homan was sent to Minnesota on Monday and pledged to stay in the state while directing ICE operations “until the problem is resolved,” referring to the growing unrest in Minneapolis. He made the statement during a news conference Thursday morning, the first since President Donald Trump sent him to the region.

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Homan said he had a “very productive” meeting with Ellison. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

During that news conference, Homan also said he had a “very productive” meeting with Ellison, adding that the state’s top prosecutor agreed to notify ICE when local jails release violent illegal aliens — a major request from federal law enforcement.

“An ICE agent can arrest a bad guy when he’s behind bars, in the security of a prison, and we know he doesn’t have any weapons,” Homan said. “But when you release this illegal alien threatening public safety into the community, we have a job to do. We’re going to arrest him, so we’re going to find him.

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Homan was deployed to Minnesota amid growing unrest and discontent with federal law enforcement in the state. (Jamie Vera/Fox News)

“So what happens now is we have to arrest someone on their territory where they have access to who knows what weapons,” Homan explained. “Now we have to send a whole team.”

He also demanded an end to “hostile rhetoric” and threats against ICE agents, promising that agents would remain in the Twin Cities to do their jobs.

“President Trump wants this fixed, and I’m going to do it with your help,” Homan said.

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Trump deployed Homan to Minnesota after heated clashes between anti-ICE agitators and federal agents in the Twin Cities. The unrest resulted in the deaths of two American citizens, Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, at the hands of law enforcement.

Anders Hagstrom of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.