The Trump administration is reducing the number of immigration enforcement officers in Minnesota after state and local officials agreed to cooperate by turning over arrested immigrants, border czar Tom Homan said Wednesday.
About 700 of the roughly 3,000 federal officers deployed around Minnesota will be withdrawn, Homan said. The immigration operations have upended the Twin Cities and escalated protests, especially since the killing of protester Alex Pretti, the second fatal shooting by federal officers in Minneapolis.
“Given this increase in unprecedented collaboration, and as a result of the need for less public safety officers to do this work and a safer environment, I am announcing, effective immediately, we’ll draw down 700 people effective today — 700 law enforcement personnel,” Homan said during a news conference.
Homan said last week that federal officials could reduce the number of federal agents in Minnesota, but only if state and local officials cooperate. His comments came after President Donald Trump seemed to signal a willingness to ease tensions in the Minneapolis and St. Paul area.
"We want to get back to the original footprint, the Minnesota footprint of what ICE officers looked like before this operation," Homan said. "Plus the additional hires for the Big Beautiful Bill. A lot of these people, they got agents here from LA, and New York, and Portland. There's problems there too. So we wanna get people back to their home stations and enforce immigration laws in those areas."
Homan pushed for jails to alert ICE to inmates who could be deported, saying transferring such inmates to the agency is safer because it means fewer officers have to be out looking for people in the country illegally.
The White House has long blamed problems arresting criminal immigrants on places known as sanctuary jurisdictions, a term generally applied to state and local governments that limit law enforcement cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has weighed-in on what Homan announced, saying more needs to happen.
"Operation Metro Surge is not making Minnesota safer," Walz wrote on X. "Today's announcement is a step in the right direction, but we need a faster and larger drawdown of forces, state-led investigations into the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, and an end to this campaign of retribution."
When questioned, Homan said he thinks the ICE operation in Minnesota has been a success.
“Yeah, I just listed a bunch of people we took off the streets of the Twin Cities, so I think it's very effective as far as public safety goes,” Homan said. “Was it a perfect operation? No. No. We created one unified chain of command to make sure everybody is on the same page. And make sure we follow the rules. I don’t think anybody, purposely, didn’t do something they should have done."
Homan essentially put the earlier, chaotic actions on former Border Patrol Commander in Minneapolis, Greg Bovino, and Sec. of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. He said conversations with local leadership will create a safer environment.
"We would much rather work in the safety and security of the jail," Homan explained. "Look, I go to bed every night wondering if every one of our officers go home safely. I also am concerned that every person we're looking for, you know, is taken into custody safely. The best way to do that is to have a target enforcement operation while planning the operation. That's the way we've done it for decades."