After law enforcement was demonized during the riots of 2020, and now again amid the obstruction, attacks, and unrest in Minnesota and in Democrat-run states across the nation, I want to take a moment to thank the men and women in law enforcement for the work they do across our country every single day.

It is not an easy job, but they are carrying out their constitutional duty. Immigration enforcement is a national obligation under the U.S. Constitution, and the federal government has the full authority and responsibility to enforce immigration laws in every state.

Left-wing states and politicians don't get to legally “opt out” of immigration law because they want to protect foreign lawbreakers.

And when federal agents encounter obstruction or violence from trained agitators or criminal illegal aliens, the job becomes far more dangerous. In Minneapolis, one officer was attacked with a shovel and another was hit by a car and left with internal bleeding, and in Oregon a Tren de Aragua gang member used a vehicle as a weapon.

This past year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have faced a 1,300% increase in assaults, a 3,200% increase in vehicular attacks, and an 8,000% increase in death threats. And what we have seen in Minnesota with rioters destroying federal vehicles, stealing firearms, and Tim Walz suggesting we are at “war with our federal government,” only escalates tensions and undermines the rule of law. You can view some pictures from the so-called “peaceful protests” here.

This situation didn’t happen by accident. Under the Biden administration, at least 10 million illegal aliens flooded into our country, including gang members, convicted criminals, and potential terrorists. Now the same liberal politicians who created and facilitated this crisis by breaking our laws are furious that the law is being enforced.

And here in Wisconsin, Governor Tony Evers made absurd comments this week by claiming Wisconsin would be “destroyed economically” if illegal aliens were deported, even suggesting we do not need federal immigration enforcement in our state.

If Wisconsin has so many illegal aliens that deportations would “destroy” the economy, then we’ve been neglecting immigration enforcement for far too long.

For years, uncontrolled immigration has harmed Wisconsin workers and families. It lowers wages, strains our social safety net and health care infrastructure, puts pressure on our public education system, and drives up housing costs, all while forcing law-abiding citizens to pick up the tab and live with the consequences.

And those consequences for Wisconsin have been tragic.

In Rusk County, a repeat offender illegal alien who should have been deported by the Biden administration after his first crime killed a father of three while driving drunk. In Prairie du Chien, a criminal tied to a South American gang was sentenced for child abuse and strangulation. And in Dane County, sanctuary policies allowed a repeat offender to remain in the community long enough to kill two teenagers in another drunk-driving crash.

It’s time to let law enforcement do their jobs and enforce our immigration laws. That is how you lower the temperature, by restoring order – not by fanning the flames of disorder.

My district sits in the shadow of the Twin Cities and has suffered as a result of Minnesota’s madness.

For the safety and security of Americans across the country, we cannot and will not turn a blind eye to the fraud, corruption, and crime coming out of MN. pic.twitter.com/GoAcw8iSC3

— Rep. Tom Tiffany (@RepTiffany) January 13, 2026