"I have proposed, and President Trump has concurred, that this surge operation conclude."
And with that, the largest immigration crackdown in U.S. history is coming to an end in Minnesota, an operation that led to mass detentions, protests and two deaths is coming to an end. The announcement was made by border czar Tom Homan Thursday at the Whipple Federal building at Fort Snelling.
Homan says a significant draw down of federal agents has already started, and will continue. He credits cooperation from state and local officials, as well as a decline in what he calls "agitators crossing the line."
“As a result of our efforts here Minnesota is now less of a sanctuary state for criminals,” Homan said at a news conference.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement launched Operation Metro Surge on Dec. 1.
"Operation Metro Surge is ending, and in the next week we're going to deploy the officers here in detail back to their home stations or other areas of the country they are needed," Homan added.
Federal authorities say the sweeps focused on the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area have led to the arrest of more than 4,000 people. While the Trump administration has called those arrested “dangerous criminal illegal aliens,” many people with no criminal records, including children and U.S. citizens, have also been detained.
When asked specifically about the 4,000 being "targeted" arrests, Homan said he did not have that information, but added that data would be shared.
Homan was quick to add it does not mean immigration enforcement in Minnesota ends, saying ICE agents would remain and continue to work with local authorities. He also says at least for now, security teams will stay here to make sure any "agitators" don't disrupt regular ICE operations.
"We have a lot of work to do across this country to remove public safety risk, who shouldn't even be in this country," Homan explained. "And to deliver on President Trump's promise for strong border security and mass deportation, law enforcement officers drawn down from this surge operation will either return to the duty stations or be assigned elsewhere to achieve just that. We will continue to enforce Title 8 immigration law throughout this nation, prioritizing national security threats and public safety risks makes sense."
Homan credits cooperation with local leadership
Democratic Gov. Tim Walz said Tuesday that he expected Operation Metro Surge to end in “days, not weeks and months,” based on his conversations with senior Trump administration officials. He told reporters he spoke this week with both Homan and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles.
"We're very much in a trust but verify mode," Walz said this week. "But it's my expectation, and we will hear more from them I think in the next day or so, that we are talking days, not weeks and months of this occupation."
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey also said he had a “positive meeting” with Homan on Monday and discussed the potential for a further drawdown of federal officers.
Thursday after the announcement, Frey said the operation has left damage behind in its wake.
"This operation has been catastrophic for our neighbors and businesses, and now it’s time for a great comeback," Frey says. "We will show the same commitment to our immigrant residents and endurance in this reopening, and I’m hopeful the whole country will stand with us as we move forward."
Homan took over the Minnesota operation in late January after the second fatal shooting by federal immigration agents and amid growing political backlash and questions about how the operation was being run.
“We’re very much in a trust but verify mode,” Walz said, adding that he expected to hear more from the administration “in the next day or so” about the future of what he said has been an “occupation” and a “retribution campaign” against the state.
Officials with the Department of Homeland Security did not reply to a request for comment on the governor’s remarks.
Walz said he had no reason not to believe Homan’s statement last week that 700 federal officers would leave Minnesota immediately, but the governor added that that still left 2,300 on Minnesota’s streets. Homan at the time cited an “increase in unprecedented collaboration” resulting in the need for fewer federal officers in Minnesota, including help from jails that hold deportable inmates.
Minnesota U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar responded on social media saying, "Minnesotans stood together, stared down ICE, and never blinked."
Minnesota Republican Rep. and House Whip Tom Emmer, a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump's administration and immigration policies, congratulated them on the operation.
"Job well done, @RealTomHoman," said Emmer on social media. "Local law enforcement is now cooperating with federal law enforcement in Tim Walz's Minnesota, thanks to @POTUS’ leadership. We’re hopeful that this partnership will continue - without local or state interference - to ensure the worst of the worst are being removed from our communities."
"I’m glad to hear that the Admin plans to withdraw ICE and CBP from Minnesota — however their claims that Operation Metro Surge made Minnesota safer are wildly untrue," Minnesota Rep. Angie Craig said Thursday. "Their rogue agents killed two Minnesotans, traumatized children and detained countless immigrants and U.S. citizens alike. ICE may be leaving, but Minnesotans will never forget the terror they inflicted on our communities. Now, we begin the difficult work of healing."
Polling shows majority believe enforcements went "too far"
About 6 in 10 U.S. adults say President Donald Trump has “gone too far” in sending federal immigration agents into American cities, according to a new AP-NORC poll that suggests political independents are increasingly uncomfortable with his tactics.
Views of Trump’s handling of immigration — which fell over the course of his first year — remained steady over the past month, with about 4 in 10 saying they approve of the president’s approach. But the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research also found that the Republican Party’s advantage on Trump’s signature political issue has shrunk since October.
About 3 in 10 U.S. adults trust Republicans to do a better job handling immigration, while a similar share say the same of Democrats. An additional 3 in 10, roughly, don’t think either party would do a better job handling the issue, and about 1 in 10 say both parties would handle it equally well.
The Republican president’s core supporters remain overwhelmingly supportive of Trump’s immigration tactics. But there are signs that more independents think he’s going too far.
“I am glad that immigrants aren’t just flooding across the border, but what he’s doing now in our cities, pitting the military against our people, these are gestapo tactics,” said independent Brenda Shaw, a 65-year-old human resources manager from South Haven, Michigan. “They’re shooting U.S. citizens in the face and in the back.”
The new polling comes as the nation watches the human impact of Trump’s crackdown in Minneapolis, where thousands of heavily armed masked agents have descended upon the city to find and remove immigrants in the country illegally.
There have also been numerous violent clashes with protesters, including two U.S. citizens killed by federal agents in recent weeks. About 6 in 10 Americans believe that Trump has “gone too far” when using federal law enforcement at public protests in U.S. cities, the poll found.