Michael Knowles: “If you're going to have mass deportations, some abuelas are getting deported”
Knowles on Minneapolis: “It is crucial ... that the administration does not pull one officer, one agent off of the case, does not leave one extra illegal in the city”
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From the January 30, 2026, edition of SiriusXM's The Megyn Kelly Show
MICHAEL KNOWLES (HOST, THE MICHAEL KNOWLES SHOW): These ICE raids are going on nationwide. How come they're only a really big problem in Minneapolis? Why is it only Minneapolis? Why is it always Minneapolis? Why is this been true since George Floyd and since even before then?
Obviously, it's a political problem. The problem is that you have leaders here who are contravening federal law, who are committing crimes, who are protecting criminals.
And so, you know, it's a game of chicken with the federal government. What has really changed so far? Nothing is all that we know. What probably could happen, maybe best case scenario, is both sides make their points and then nothing changes. And Tom Homan comes in, and he keeps conducting the same kinds of raids.
MEGYN KELLY (HOST): Yeah.
KNOWLES: But it is crucial here that the administration does not let up one bit. It is crucial --
KELLY: Yes.
KNOWLES: -- that the administration does not pull one officer, one agent off of the case, does not leave one extra illegal in the city because, this is a game of chicken that could have nationwide implications.
The summer of love in -- during the year of our Floyd began in Minneapolis. And because the federal government didn't quash it, it spread. It infected the rest of the country. So we can't just repeat what happened there. Hopefully, we have to learn these lessons.
And, when you look at the public opinion polls, they're kind of split. On the one hand, it's true most voters think that ICE should chill out in Minneapolis. But then when it comes to mass deportations, generally, voters are overwhelmingly majority in support of that. And so what that means is, they like it in principle. They don't like the nasty pictures. This means that we need to win the war of the pictures.
This means and I -- Tom Homan is pretty good at this. He's very good at messaging.
KELLY: Very true.
KNOWLES: We need to make clear that these -- the rapists and the murderers and all the rest of them, you know, child abusers, we see their faces. We see their face tattoos. That becomes the image of Minneapolis.
In addition to that, people who have not committed additional crimes also need to be deported.
But I hope it's a -- it's just a PR shift, you know. You don't need to say that you're deporting abuela in order to deport abuela. If you're going to have mass deportations, some abuelas are getting deported. I'm sorry. It's just how it works. It's federal law. Both parties agreed with this until, like, five minutes ago. You have to do that.
But at least on the messaging, we need to show the problem where it is most urgent, where it's most grievous, where you have 80% support.
I hope that's what Homan's doing. But if the White House is using this as an opportunity to back off, I think it is a huge potentially existential mistake.
KELLY: Totally agree with you.