Feds to halt immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS (CN) — The Trump administration will officially wind down its immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota, border czar Tom Homan announced Thursday.

“I have proposed, and President Trump has concurred, that this surge operation conclude,” Homan said at a news conference. “A significant drawdown has already been underway this week and will continue through next week.”

The withdrawal marks a significant pivot for Trump, who has faced intense legal and political pushback over the surge’s scale and direction, especially after the shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens by federal agents and mass protests.

Homan noted that at its height, the operation had about 3,000 federal officers deployed across the state. That had already been cut to roughly 2,000 as the administration began shifting its focus away from broad street-level presence, and toward targeted enforcement.

Homan credited recent agreements with several local sheriffs that let Immigration and Customs Enforcement take custody of people in the “safety and security of jails,” a method he claims is both safer for officers and more cost-effective.

“As a result of our efforts here, Minnesota is now less of a sanctuary state for criminals,” Homan said, adding that a small footprint of officers will remain in the state.

In a news conference shortly after the announcement, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz expressed his gratitude to those who “never wavered” in standing up for their community.

“Over the past six weeks, the state of Minnesota and the people of this great state have endured an unprecedented federal invasion in all aspects of life,” he said. “Our sense of normalcy was shook to the core, the trauma that has been inflicted, certainly across our immigrant community, but to every single Minnesotan, is unlike anything we’ve ever witnessed.”

Walz said the state is “cautiously optimistic” about the announcement.

“They left us with deep damage, generational trauma … they left with economic ruin,” he said. “While the federal government may move on to whatever next thing they want to do, the state of Minnesota and our administration is unwaveringly focused on the recovery of what they did.”

The three-month surge led to over 4,000 arrests and three shootings by federal agents, two of them fatal, officials said. In response, Minnesota saw a sustained public outcry, with hundreds of thousands of residents joining a mix of planned rallies and spontaneous marches. Tension deepened following the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who the Trump administration quickly labeled “domestic terrorists.”

The Trump administration’s reluctance to fully investigate the killings of Pretti and Good resulted in the mass resignation of federal prosecutors in Minnesota**.**

Minnesota’s federal courts have faced a wave of litigation since the operation began, with a flurry of people claiming unconstitutional conduct by ICE officers and violations of detainees’ rights. These filings include numerous accounts of federal agencies flouting court-ordered releases, which judges have found particularly egregious.

Bipartisan concern over the killing of Pretti led to a major pivot in Trump’s operation in Minnesota. Homan was sent to replace Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino, who sparked a backlash over his comments after both shootings.

Homan struck a more cooperative tone, expressing the intention in his first news conference to work with state officials, and transition to more targeted, safer operations. The border czar thanked some of those state officials on Thursday for their cooperation.

“We’ve seen a big change here in the last couple weeks,” he said. “It’s all good changes.”

Walz said Tuesday he expected “Operation Metro Surge” to end in the coming days, citing productive conversations with Homan.

In reaction to the news of the ICE occupation ending, Walz posted on X, “Thank you, Minnesota,” adding: “The long road to recovery starts now.”

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, one of the most vocal critics of the ICE surge in his city, also responded to the operation’s expected end on X.

“They thought they could break us, but a love for our neighbors and a resolve to endure can outlast an occupation,” he said. “These patriots of Minneapolis are showing that it’s not just about resistance — standing with our neighbors is deeply American.”

Homan claimed the operation has been a success, and that the winding-down of the surge is not a sign of surrendering the president’s immigration agenda.

“President Trump made a promise of mass deportation, and that’s what this country is going to get,” he said.

Before the announcement, the Senate’s Homeland Security committee opened a hearing on the federal presence in Minnesota, where three federal immigration agency leaders are set to testify.