00:00I wonder if you are taking heart in what the president describes as a good phone call.
00:05A very good phone call with Governor Walz.
00:07He said, we seem to be on a similar wave.
00:10Or do you worry more about the rhetoric we heard from the press secretary today?
00:15You know, what I know about this president is that whatever it needs to be said.
00:20In order to make him feel like he's got to win here, right?
00:22I mean, I'm so disappointed when I hear the rhetoric that.
00:25It is still coming out of Washington, D.C., that they can stand here and say that it is local electeds here.
00:30Democrats here that have caused the heightened, you know, tension within our.
00:35But when you have a federal government and its agents who are clearly telling people.
00:40Recounting the incidents that they have caused on the ground and it does not match the video.
00:45Evidence, I do not know how it is that they are can turn around and blame that.
00:50To local electeds here, Democrats here, and especially the rhetoric come in when you group whole.
00:55groups of people as murderers and rapists when we know in Minnesota here that are.
01:00Immigrant and refugee communities have made our state stronger.
01:04You know, this is.
01:05A self-inflicted, self-created situation by the federal government, but you know what, whatever it.
01:10Is that they need to say in order to give them the ability to leave our space here, I.
01:15Do you take heart in the actions you saw today by the administration, it seems like.
01:20Gregory Bovino is on his way home, Tom Holman is being dispatched to many.
01:25In Minneapolis, is that encouraging or does that make you worry?
01:28In Minneapolis, is that encouraging or does that make you worry?
01:30You know, all I can do is have hope, and that is what we do here in Minnesota well, is that we are optimists.
01:35In light of the challenges in front of us, all I can do is be hopeful just like the rest of Minnesota that.
01:40This is a turning point for all of us here.
01:43Let me ask you about some of the.
01:45The training that your office has been providing to protesters in.
01:50Your city working with advocacy groups to teach constitutional observe.
01:55Courses to train people on how to videotape law enforcement without interfering in ice operations.
02:00I ask you about this, Mayor, because much of the rhetoric we've heard from the administration is these.
02:05These two people who were killed in the Twin Cities were interfering with federal.
02:10ICE operations and therefore putting themselves in danger.
02:14What are you telling.
02:15What are you telling people to do.
02:17We are telling people to not interfere into any of.
02:20The federal.
02:21The federal agents operations in the constitutional observer training.
02:24We are very.
02:25Very clear about what it means to be there and to document.
02:28And so I will say that I.
02:30Can't guarantee that everybody who shows up to an event is trained as a constitutional observer.
02:35But we know that we've trained thousands of people in order to be supportive and to be.
02:40There to help document.
02:41You know, I don't want to be just have one point of clarification that.
02:45Alex was not at a protest.
02:47It was a morning in which he just happened to be in a space.
02:50In which he saw activity and he wanted to go and document.
02:53I think that it is dangerous when we.
02:55I would say that just because people are gathering or they exist is that they are protesting.
02:59They are not.
03:00They know that their neighbors have been taken off of the streets, that people are being ripped out of their home.
03:05Forcibly that people are having children and families ripped apart.
03:09And so when.
03:10Our neighbors see each other hurting and impacted.
03:12We show up.
03:13And showing up doesn't mean that we are.
03:15We are protesting.
03:16It means we are there to document because we know that that legal documentation is the only thing.
03:20that that family may have in legal proceedings to try to keep family members who are here legally.
03:25here with their families.
03:27One of the faces of this.
03:30operation in your city is a friend's brother in law.
03:35of yours who now most people know as the man who was taken.
03:40outside of his home wearing nothing but shorts crocs and a blanket.
03:45Uh.
03:46Chong Lee Scott Tao.
03:47His photograph being taken out of his home in freezing temperature.
03:50after being arrested without a warrant.
03:53His ID apparently was not checked until.
03:55He got back home.
03:56Uh.
03:57Homeland did bring him back home after he was pulled out of his house.
04:00They.
04:00They said they were looking for two sex offenders.
04:02The family says it was a case of mistaken identity.
04:05Mayor is the federal government told you what that operation was all about.
04:09So.
04:10I don't have a direct connection with the federal government.
04:12They do not coordinate and they do not have communicate with.
04:15us proactively.
04:16What I can say.
04:17Yeah.
04:18Um.
04:19Because this is an active investigation.
04:20Is that.
04:20Uh.
04:21Identification was offered.
04:22And.
04:23Uh.
04:24In.
04:25The operations.
04:25That was not something that they considered or cared to take into consideration when they
04:29took.
04:30Chong Li out of his house.
04:31Um.
04:32Um.
04:33You know.
04:34I.
04:35I think that.
04:36Not only was this an.
04:37Unfortunate.
04:38Um.
04:39Um.
04:40Um.
04:41Um.
04:42Um.
04:43Um.
04:44Um.
04:45Um.
04:46Um.
04:47Um.
04:48Um.
04:49Um.
04:50Um.
04:51Um.
04:53Um.
04:54Um.
04:55Um.
04:56Um.
04:57Um.
04:58Um.
04:59Um.
05:00Um.
05:01Uh.
05:02If.
05:03Uh.
05:04Uh.
05:05Uh.
05:06Uh.
05:07Uh.
05:08Uh.
05:09So.
05:09Uh.
05:10Uh.
05:10Uh,'re.
05:11Uh.
05:11Uh.
05:12Uh.
05:13Uh.
05:15We're.
05:27Uh, uh.
05:28war era uh resettler you were part of a resettlement program and so individual
05:33i'm assuming uh like chong lee uh have played a long role
05:38in the diverse culture in your state having fought side by side with americans
05:43in the vietnam war uh to what extent have you seen authority
05:48operating in communities of color versus european migrant communities
05:53in your city we uh have not seen one account of
05:58europeans who we know that there are europeans who are here undocumented
06:03and yet we have not heard of one account of them being profiled what i will say just on your point
06:07about
06:08lee's family is that his mother who just passed away a few weeks ago i'm literally i'm flying
06:13to california in a couple of weeks to attend his mother's funeral his mother was one of the first
06:18mong nurses in laos at the samtang hospital he she was a nurse with my
06:23mother-in-law and they took care of wounded soldiers american and mong soldiers who were fighting
06:28fighting for democracy and fighting for america before they ever set foot in this country and that
06:33that is the family that that is the family that this administration went after a woman
06:38who raised her children to be law-abiding citizens who fought and took care of soldiers in fact
06:43this is a huge win-win-wetterans who came to this country and was a contributing member of society and who has always been d
06:48deeply committed to this country that is the person that was ripped away and in
06:53weeks of her death that her family would be targeting this way is such a disgrace to the legacy.
06:58Hmong people and the fight that they had with the Americans and American soldiers.
07:03Well, I appreciate your telling their story. Mayor Hur, you've been in office, I believe, for-
07:08for three weeks. So this is your only reality as the mayor of St. Paul.
07:13Will anything short of ICE withdrawing from the city settle-
07:18this standoff? I think that ICE-
07:23has to have a complete withdrawal from here. And to be honest, you know, we have always worked-
07:28with our federal agents on cases that do not violate our separation ordinance.
07:33That we have always been willing to get- to work with them on detain-
07:38the remaining hardened criminals, people who have records who should not be here,
07:41and that we can continue to go back-
07:43to working in a way that keeps our country safe because we know how to do that. Our law-
07:48enforcement knows how to apprehend people and to keep our community safe-
07:53and that we would like to be able to go back to that environment in which we can do our jobs well.
07:58Well, that's pretty important, Mayor, and I think it's worth underscoring that. You're pledging now-
08:03before our listeners and viewers to work with federal authorities to-
08:08arrest, detain, and prosecute those who are in this country illegally-
08:13and have broken the law. Is that right?
08:16That's absolutely right. And we've- we've always-
08:18had that kind of relationship long before the Trump administration and pre-
08:23previous presidential administrations, and so we continue to be committed to keeping law in order.
08:28We're going to have a lot of work in our city.
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