Homan says “small” security force will remain in Minnesota

Body

Tom Homan, the White House border czar, said Sunday that the Trump administration is drawing down its immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota’s Twin Cities area after sending thousands of federal officers to Minneapolis and St. Paul.

Homan said more than 1,000 immigration agents had already left the area and that “as of Monday, Tuesday, we’ll remove several hundred more,” adding, “We already removed well over 1,000 people.” He said the changes are intended to “get back to the original footprint,” while he described continued enforcement activity in Minnesota.

In an interview with CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Homan said the administration will keep a security presence in Minnesota for a limited time. He described it as a “small” security force, saying it would remain briefly to protect remaining immigration agents and respond if agents are threatened while working.

Homan said the remaining officers would respond “when our agents are out and they get surrounded by agitators and things got out of control,” and he did not define what he meant by “small.” He also said officers will keep investigating fraud allegations and will continue responding to an anti-immigration enforcement protest that disrupted a service at a church.

Homan said the enforcement operation would not end in the Twin Cities, and he said mass deportations would continue across the country. He added that immigration officers leaving Minnesota will either report back to their stations or be assigned elsewhere.

The announcement comes amid a broader debate over the conduct and scale of federal enforcement. Thousands of officers were sent to the area for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s “Operation Metro Surge,” which the Department of Homeland Security said was its largest immigration enforcement operation ever and that it proved successful.

Criticism increased as the situation became more volatile, including after two U.S. citizens were killed. Protests became common, and residents formed a network to help immigrants, warn of approaching agents, or film immigration officers’ actions. The shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti drew condemnation and raised questions about officers’ conduct, leading to changes to the operation.

Homan previously said a drawdown had started. He announced that 700 federal officers would leave Minnesota immediately, while still leaving more than 2,000 in the state, and he said later that a “significant drawdown” was underway and would continue through this week.

When asked whether future deployments could match the scale of the Twin Cities operation, Homan said “it depends on the situation.”