Minneapolis Mayor Dodges When Asked Why Jails are Fighting Trump on Obama-era Policies [WATCH]

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey avoided answering why he opposes a federal immigration measure once used during the Obama administration and now backed by President Donald Trump during an interview on CNN Wednesday.

Frey appeared on CNN’s The Arena with Kasie Hunt to discuss the Trump administration’s pullback of 700 federal agents from Minneapolis following two deadly shootings last month involving federal officers.

Frey continued to push back against what he called “coercion” from the Trump administration regarding immigration enforcement, but Hunt noted that similar policies had been used under former President Barack Obama.

“I take your point about the voting rolls for sure, but it is worth noting that during the Obama years, the Hennepin County Jail actually had a policy where they let an [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] ICE agent keep an office there and allowed them to talk to immigrants,” Hunt said. “So the policy has clearly been under a Democratic president what now the Trump administration is asking for.”

Hunt then asked whether it is good policy for jails to follow an ICE detainer and hand someone over after the person has served time for a crime.

“I mean, look, you’re asking all the right questions here,” Frey responded. “And while I don’t have full expertise in how the operations at the jail are conducted, again, that’s not our jurisdiction.”

He added that “there are mechanisms to do this lawfully,” arguing that the federal government could seek “some form of federal warrant” that could run “part and parcel with the warrant that already exists at the state level.”

“But what we can’t have from a legal perspective is a second detention after the obligations under the first detention have been met,” Frey said.

Watch the clip above.