Immigration and Customs Enforcement has sharply criticized Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey following the arrest of a convicted sex offender who had been living illegally in Minneapolis. The arrest came after a targeted ICE enforcement operation that the agency says was delayed for years due to local sanctuary-style policies.

According to ICE, the individual arrested was Mahad Abdulkadir Yusuf, a Somali national unlawfully present in the United States. Authorities said Yusuf was convicted in 2016 of first-degree criminal sexual conduct after forcing a victim to perform oral sex on multiple occasions, a crime ICE described as violent and predatory.

Despite that conviction, ICE said Yusuf remained at large in Minneapolis for years. Federal agents reportedly attempted to arrest him earlier at his apartment, but those efforts failed when a building manager denied agents access to the property, forcing ICE to abandon the attempt.

ICE officials said the obstruction required them to conduct a more complex, targeted operation to finally take Yusuf into custody. After the arrest, the agency issued a public statement placing blame squarely on state and local leadership, arguing that sanctuary policies directly interfered with enforcement.

“Thanks to the sanctuary policies of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, this dangerous criminal was free to prowl the streets and victimize Minneapolis residents for years,” ICE said, adding in a social media post, “This is who Governor Walz and Mayor Frey defend.”

Walz and Frey have consistently defended sanctuary-style policies, saying they help build trust between immigrant communities and local law enforcement. ICE, however, maintains that such policies hinder its mission to remove illegal immigrants convicted of serious crimes and put public safety at risk.