Trump Administration Announces End to Surge in Immigration Enforcement in Minneapolis

In the wake of two people shot dead by federal agents in Minneapolis and widespread demonstrations in Minnesota, the Trump Administration said Thursday it is winding down its massive immigration enforcement operation in the state.

“I have proposed and President Trump has concurred that this surge operation conclude,” border czar Tom Homan told reporters in a press conference in Minneapolis on Thursday.

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President Donald Trump sent Homan, his top immigration advisor, to Minnesota late last month to address the growing unrest and excessive use of force by immigration officers in the state during “Operation Metro Surge,” which had been under the leadership of Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino but was reassigned. Homan quickly set up meetings with Governor Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and other state leaders, sheriffs and police chiefs. Last week, Homan announced he was pulling 700 immigration agents from the city, leaving around 2,000 in the area.

“Operation Metro Surge is ending,” Homan said Thursday. “A significant drawdown has already been underway this week.”

Homan had previously said a withdrawal from the Minneapolis area would need to be linked with state and local law enforcement cooperating better with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. On Thursday, Homan said he’s satisfied that local police will inform immigration agents when someone in the country illegally is being released from jails and has built on the existing practice of in state prisons of notifying ICE when someone the agency wants to detain is completing their prison sentence. Homan said that state and local police have also increased their response time to removing protest barricades and dispersing protestors that are disrupting federal operations.

Homan said that immigration agents made “over 4,000” arrests during the surge in operations. But he said he did not know how many of those were “targeted” arrests of people deemed to pose a public safety threat and how many had no criminal record.

During Trump’s first year in office, thousands of people who were in the country illegally but have no criminal record have been arrested and detained in an effort to deport them.

Read more: How Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Changed Minneapolis

Trump’s larger second-term goal of deporting millions of people who are in the U.S. illegally won’t stop, Homan said. “President Trump made a promise of mass deportations and that’s what this country is going to get,” he said.

“For those who say we are backing down from immigration enforcement or the promise of mass deportations you are simply wrong,” Homan said. “Look at the data. Record number of arrests and deportations under Trump’s first year. And we will continue that effort.” 

“Prioritizing public safety threats and national security threats doesn’t mean we will forget about everybody else,” Homan added. “We will take action on everybody else. That’s just a stone cold fact.” 

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.