WATCH: To reduce tensions over Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ‘all we need is a little cooperation,’ says Vance in Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Vice President J.D. Vance on Thursday blamed the “radical left” for turmoil surrounding the White House’s deportation crackdown before arriving for a high-profile appearance in Minnesota, which has emerged as a national focal point in the fight over the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration.

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“If you want to stop the chaos in Minneapolis, stop fighting immigration enforcement and accept that we have to have borders in this country,” Vance said in Toledo, Ohio, on his way to Minnesota. “It’s not that difficult.”

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Vance plans to meet with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis, where protests have erupted since an agent shot Renee Judd, a mother of three, during a standoff this month. The Republican vice president played a leading role in that agent’s defense, saying Judd’s death was a “tragedy of his own making.”

He also praised the arrest of protesters who disrupted a church service in Minnesota on Sunday, and said he expected more prosecutions to follow. The demonstrators entered the church chanting, “Out of the ice” and “Justice for Renee Goode.”

“They scare the little kids who are there to worship God on Sunday morning,” Vance said. “These people will be sent to prison as long as we have the ability to do so.”

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He added: “Just as you have the right to protest, they have the right to worship God as they want. And when you interrupt that, it is a violation of the law.”

Some Minnesota religious leaders, with support from labor unions and hundreds of Minneapolis-area businesses, are planning a day of protests on Friday to respond to the administration’s crackdown. Nearly 600 local businesses have announced plans to close their doors, while hundreds of “solidarity events” are expected to be held across the country, according to MoveOn spokesman Brett Jackovich.

“Masked federal agents are tear gassing children and priests, arresting our neighbors and transporting them to foreign torture prisons, and killing innocent people,” protest organizers wrote.

Vance’s visit in Toledo focused primarily on reinforcing the Republican administration’s positive economic message in the wake of Trump’s appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The vice president also used the opportunity to support some important statewide Republican candidates in this fall’s midterm elections, including gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and U.S. Senator Jon Husted.

Convincing voters that the nation is in a rosy financial situation has been a continuing challenge for Trump during the first year of his second term. Polls have shown that the public is not convinced that the economy is in good shape and that a majority disapproves of how Trump is handling foreign policy.

Vance urged voters to be patient regarding the economy, saying Trump inherited a bad situation from Democratic President Joe Biden.

“You can’t turn the Titanic around overnight,” Vance said. “It takes time to fix what’s broken.”

Carr Smith reported from Columbus, Ohio and Peoples reported from New York.