Trump adviser Dick Morris told Newsmax on Saturday that "1,350 people in custody in Minnesota jails" who "are here illegally" should be "quietly taken into custody and deported," arguing that a jail-focused approach would avoid what he called "the risk of violence" from street enforcement.
Morris appeared on Newsmax's "The Count" on Saturday and was asked whether Minnesota Democrats would stop resisting federal agents if President Donald Trump and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz reached common ground on immigration enforcement.
Morris responded, "They should."
He argued, "What Trump has done is that he said, 'Look, there are 1,350 people in custody in Minnesota jails who are here illegally.'" Morris added, "We want them out," and said the administration wants to begin by asking, "Let us into the jails. Let us get them out. Let us deport them.
"So we don't have to chase people on the street with armored cars and face the risk of violence," he added, saying that he viewed the broader enforcement picture as "relatively nonviolent" elsewhere.
Morris listed "some marches, some protests, some arrests," and said, "but no deaths and no shootings."
Morris then described what he called an agreement among leaders, saying, "I think Trump and [Mayor Jacob] Frey and Walz all agreed that it made sense."
He said, "I think that's what's going to happen," and predicted, "these people will be quietly taken into custody and deported."
Morris also said, "Trump will not have had to retreat," and added, "There won't be violent scenes."
The host then cited a court ruling in which a judge denied Minnesota's bid to block Trump's federal immigration agents and asked Morris whether that would help the operation move forward or spark more conflict.
Morris replied, "No, I think it will help it move forward," and added, "I think that the Trump-Walz deal in discussions offers an exit path" for everyone.
Morris then shifted focus to what he called fraud in the state, saying, "The larger issue is not so much the immigration issue, but the fraud that goes on in Minnesota."
He said "billions of dollars" have "apparently been stolen," and called it "state-sponsored welfare fraud," adding that it had become "so ubiquitous and so widespread in Minnesota," Morris said it was "appropriate that Trump is really cracking down on this."
Asked what he would advise Trump to do next, Morris said, "I would go into the prisons, check the IDs of everybody, arrest those who are here illegally, deport them."
"I think that might solve the problem."
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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