Share and Follow
The Trump administration has announced a reduction in the number of immigration enforcement officers stationed in Minnesota, following an agreement with state and local authorities to hand over arrested immigrants. This development was revealed by Tom Homan, the U.S. border czar, on Wednesday.
As part of this agreement, approximately 700 federal officers, which constitutes about one-quarter of the officers in Minnesota, will be withdrawn immediately, according to Homan.
However, Homan did not specify a timeline for when the operation in Minnesota might conclude. This comes amid heightened tensions and protests in the Twin Cities, particularly following the fatal shooting of protester Alex Pretti, marking the second such incident involving federal officers in Minneapolis.
Homan emphasized that a complete withdrawal of officers will only happen once interference with federal agents ceases, including the removal of roadblocks that have been obstructing their operations.
After this week’s reduction, around 2,000 federal officers are expected to remain active in the state, as stated by Homan.
“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.
He didn’t say which jurisdictions have been co-operating with the Department of Homeland Security.
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 Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Homan had pushed for jails to alert Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to inmates who could be deported, saying transferring such inmates to ICE is safer because it means fewer officers have to be out looking for people in the country illegally.
The Trump administration has long complained that places known as sanctuary jurisdictions — a term generally applied to local governments that limit law enforcement cooperation with DHS — hinder the arrest of criminal immigrants.
Homan said on Wednesday that 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.”
NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.