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The Trump administration announced the withdrawal of 700 immigration officers from Minnesota following weeks of intense operations and the tragic shooting of two protesters, which fueled nationwide outrage.
Despite this reduction, Tom Homan, a senior official within the administration, confirmed that the controversial deployment in Minneapolis would continue, with around 2,000 officers remaining in place.
Both the Minneapolis mayor and Minnesota’s governor, who are Democrats, welcomed the move as “a step in the right direction.” However, they urged the federal government to expedite its efforts in scaling back its extensive immigration operations in the state.
Homan, who was appointed to manage the situation in Minneapolis amid growing anger over the shootings and conflicting governmental narratives, stated that the drawdown would be immediate. He pointed to improved collaboration with local officials as a reason for this decision.
He further explained that the shift is part of an increased effort to transfer custody of criminal aliens directly from jails, reducing the necessity for street detentions and thus requiring fewer officers.
Before the launch of sweeping immigration operations, there were only 150 federal immigration officers in the state.
Homan also stressed he would not be leaving Minneapolis, which has become a major flashpoint in Trump’s overall immigration policy, “until we get it all done.”
Calls for ‘faster and larger drawdown’
“President Trump fully intends to achieve mass deportations during this administration, and immigration enforcement actions will continue every day throughout this country,” Homan said.
He also took aim at “extreme rhetoric” against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel, saying: “I said back in March of this year, if the hateful rhetoric didn’t stop, I was afraid there would be bloodshed, and there has been.”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Fry welcomed the reduction in federal personnel but said in a post on X that the US immigration operation in Minneapolis must end “immediately”.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz took a similar stance, calling for a “faster and larger drawdown of forces” and state-led investigations into the two deadly shootings in Minneapolis.
Federal agents shot and killed unarmed Renee Good, a 37-year-old Minneapolis woman, as she attempted to drive away from an ICE enforcement operation last month, triggering protests and criticism from civil rights groups and local officials.
Another Minneapolis resident, intensive care nurse Alex Pretti, also 37, was beaten and shot dead by federal agents as he lay pinned to the ground in an incident two weeks later.
Both victims were US citizens. The killings drew international attention and condemnation over the government’s false accounts of what happened, intensifying public concern about the conduct of federal immigration operations.
Following outcry over the shootings, Trump withdrew combative Customs and Border Protection commander Gregory Bovino and replaced him with Homan, who pledged to draw down the operation with conditions.
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