Kristi Noem faces a setback as new directives have been issued to her proactive ICE agents, instructing them to overlook ‘agitators’ and focus solely on detaining ‘criminal’ migrants. This change aligns with former President Trump’s revised deportation strategy.

During a Thursday morning press conference held in Minneapolis, Tom Homan, appointed by Trump as the border czar for Minnesota, announced that immigration officers will now engage in ‘targeted, strategic, enforcement operations.’

Homan, known for his longstanding rivalry with Noem and her alleged partner Corey Lewandowski, has taken the helm of immigration efforts in the state.

“This is pragmatic collaboration, aimed at reducing the number of people here,” Homan stated to journalists on Thursday. “Yes, I said it. We’re working to reduce the numbers.”

He emphasized that his primary goal is to decrease these numbers, citing productive discussions with state and local officials as a basis for the new approach.

New guidance for ICE operations in Minnesota also directs agents to only target immigrants who have criminal charges or convictions. 

The Homan-led draw down is predicated on local official compliance and agreements to capture criminals. 

The constraints on ICE mark a complete departure from the broad immigration enforcement tactics that have seen two protesters shot dead this month.

Tom Homan vowed to oversee a ‘draw down’ of immigration enforcement in Minneapolis during a Thursday morning news conference 

Kristi Noem was sidelined by Donald Trump following the fatal shootings of two American citizens by immigration agents

Riots have intensified across Minneapolis ever since the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by immigration agents

Moments before Alex Pretti (on the ground) was fatally shot in the Minnesota city on Saturday

‘DO NOT COMMUNICATE OR ENGAGE WITH AGITATORS,’ read an email to ICE agents in the Twin Cities obtained by Reuters. ‘It serves no purpose other than inflaming the situation. No one is going to convince the other. The only communication should be the officers issuing commands.’

Homan addressed concerns at his Thursday press conference regarding how immigration agents will deal with demonstrators

‘You have your First Amendment rights — I support that,’ Homan said at the press conference. ‘You have the right to protest. I’m just asking to keep it peaceful.’

Homan’s comments mark a clear departure from Noem who slammed immigration protesters by referring to them as ‘rioters’ and ‘insurrectionists.’  

Homan noted that assaulting law enforcement is ‘never okay’ and there will be ‘zero tolerance’ for doing so.

Homan says he outlined Trump’s immigration enforcement expectations during meetings with local officials and ICE leadership in Minneapolis.

‘We will conduct targeted enforcement operations. Targeted. Like we’ve done for decades.’

Federal agents will use ‘numerous databases’ and criminal records to identify and target migrants, Homan said, insisting the administration is not backing down from the president’s mass deportation agenda.

The Homan-led draw down is predicated on local official compliance and agreements to capture criminals

Homan’s comments mark a clear departure from Noem who slammed immigration protesters by referring to them as ‘rioters’ and ‘insurrectionists.’

‘We are not surrendering the president’s mission on immigration enforcement,’ Homan added.

An administration official responded to new guidance by stating, ‘There are ongoing conversations on how to most effectively conduct operations in Minnesota. No guidance should be considered final until it is officially issued.’

The guidance does not describe what sort of actions would trigger commands or what officers should do if commands were not followed. 

The updated guidance came from Marcos Charles, the top official in ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division, the email said. It said officers could only target immigration offenders who had a previous criminal history.

‘We are moving to targeted enforcement of aliens with a criminal history,’ it read. ‘This includes arrests, not just convictions. ALL TARGETS MUST HAVE A CRIMINAL NEXUS.’

Under former President Joe Biden, ICE officers were required to focus on serious criminals, but the Trump administration rescinded that policy, allowing officers to arrest non-criminals without restrictions.

ICE officers can run license plate checks for possible targets and should make an arrest if the registered owner of the vehicle is an immigrant with a criminal history, the guidance said.

Earlier this week, Donald Trump said his administration would ‘de-escalate’ tensions in Minnesota following the fatal shootings of Reene Good, a mother of three children, and Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse. 

Noem is also retreating from an ICE immigration crackdown in Maine as bipartisan backlash grows following the fatal shootings of two US citizens in Minnesota. 

Maine’s Republican Senator Susan Collins also said Thursday that Noem had agreed to pull ICE out of the state following complaints that the agency had arrested legal immigrants. 

‘While the Department of Homeland Security does not confirm law enforcement operations, I can report that Secretary Noem has informed me that ICE has ended its enhanced activities in the State of Maine,’ Collins wrote on X.

The Daily Mail has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment.