Following the fatal shooting of two individuals by federal agents in Minneapolis and widespread protests across Minnesota, the Trump Administration announced on Thursday that it is scaling back its large-scale immigration enforcement initiative in the state.
“I proposed that this surge operation come to an end, and President Trump has agreed,” Tom Homan, the administration’s border czar, told reporters during a press conference in Minneapolis on Thursday.
President Donald Trump sent Homan—his top immigration advisor—to Minnesota to address the growing unrest and reports of excessive force by immigration officers during “Operation Metro Surge.” The operation, initially led by a Border Patrol commander, had been reassigned to new leadership. Homan quickly arranged meetings with Governor Tim Walz, Minneapolis officials, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, and other state leaders, sheriffs, and police chiefs. Last week, he stated he was withdrawing 700 immigration agents from the city, leaving approximately 2,000 agents in the area.
“Operation Metro Surge is concluding,” Homan said Thursday. “A significant reduction in personnel has already been underway this week.”
Previously, Homan had said a withdrawal from the Minneapolis area would require state and local law enforcement to cooperate more effectively with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). On Thursday, he expressed satisfaction that local police will notify immigration agents when an individual in the country illegally is being released from jail, building on the existing practice in state prisons of alerting ICE when someone the agency wishes to detain is finishing their prison sentence. Homan also noted that state and local police have improved their response time to remove protest barricades and disperse demonstrators disrupting federal operations.
Homan reported that immigration agents made over 4,000 arrests during the surge. However, he admitted he did not know how many of these were targeted arrests of individuals deemed public safety threats and how many had no criminal record.
During Trump’s first year in office, thousands of people in the country illegally but without criminal records were arrested and detained in an effort to deport them.
Homan emphasized that Trump’s broader second-term goal of deporting millions of undocumented people in the U.S. will not stop. “President Trump promised mass deportations, and that’s what this country is going to get,” he said.
“For those who claim we are backing down from immigration enforcement or the promise of mass deportations, you are simply wrong,” Homan stated. “Look at the data: record numbers of arrests and deportations in Trump’s first year, and we will continue that effort.”
“Prioritizing public safety and national security threats doesn’t mean we will forget about everyone else,” Homan added. “We will take action against everyone else—that’s a stone-cold fact.”
This breaking news story will be updated.