Joe Augustine
Joe Augustine joined FOX 9 as the Executive Producer of Investigations and Documentaries in 2024.
He has worked in the Twin Cities as a general assignment reporter and investigative journalist since 2014.
Prior to coming to Minnesota, Joe worked as a reporter in Des Moines, Iowa, and south Texas. In the Rio Grande Valley, Joe covered the immigration crisis, local corruption, and the impact of human smuggling.
Joe grew up in Kenosha, Wisconsin –home of the best polka band in the Midwest. He graduated from the University of Iowa and enjoys hearing the "Who hates Iowa?" chant any time he attends a Gophers game.
Joe and his wife live in the west metro where their three children will likely inspire numerous noise ordinances.
The latest from Joe Augustine
DHS Audit: $1 billion in Medicaid funding vulnerable to fraud
A third-party audit of the Minnesota Department of Human Services identified more than $1.7-billion in Medicaid funding that may be vulnerable to waste, fraud and abuse.
ICE agreements would require more cooperation from county jails
A potential legal agreement would allow individual counties to honor ICE detainers without judicial warrants and hold inmates for up to 48 additional hours.
Minneapolis shooting: Former CBP head says Border Patrol 'wrong unit' for city operations
Weeks before a Border Patrol agent repeatedly and fatally shot a man in Minneapolis, a former Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection said Border Patrol is the “wrong" unit for operations in major U.S. cities.
Minneapolis shooting: DHS has claimed it's unlawful for protesters to carry a gun…even with a legal permit
Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino claimed the man killed by a Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis was repeatedly shot because he had a loaded handgun. The man had a legal permit to carry a firearm, according to Minneapolis Police, but DHS has argued it is "unlawful" for protesters to bring a firearm to a demonstration.
Records undercut ICE claims that MN jails, prisons release 'worst of the worst'
The Trump Administration has repeatedly blamed county and state officials in Minnesota for releasing violent criminals from jail or prison instead of handing them over to ICE for deportation. But many of those detainees have no criminal records in Minnesota or haven’t been incarcerated here for several years, according to a FOX 9 Investigators review of court records.
ICE agents are detaining kids…from teens to toddlers
ICE agents have detained numerous children this month, including at least one toddler. Immigration attorneys call the detainment of children a “cruel" escalation of force in the ongoing Operation Metro Surge.
3M says its no longer manufacturing PFAS chemicals
3M, a Minnesota based company, says it completed its plan to stop manufacturing PFAS chemicals by the end of 2025.
ICE’s widening net spreads fear from Targets to bus stops
The eroding lines of protection from federal surveillance are prompting fear and anger among tight-knit communities now trying to shield parents, teachers and coworkers from roving immigration agents.
Can ICE agents shoot at moving vehicles? Yes and no.
ICE and other immigration agents are “generally" prohibited from firing at moving vehicles. But the policy includes an exception for when agents feel someone is “threatening deadly force" and "no other objectively reasonable means of defense is available."
Some ICE agents wear body cameras...but not everywhere
Bystander videos showed an ICE agent shooting and killing a driver in south Minneapolis. It is not clear whether the ICE agent had a body-worn camera that recorded what happened right before the shooting.