Homan wants cooperation from state leaders as 700 federal agents leave Minnesota
White House "border czar" Tom Homan holds a news conference at the Bishop Whipple Federal building on Jan. 29 in Minneapolis.
Julia Demaree Nikhinson | AP
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Audio transcript
[THEME MUSIC] KELLY GORDON: This is Minnesota Now. I'm Kelly Gordon, in for Nina Moini. Our top story today, the White House official leading the federal immigration operation in the state, Tom Homan, announced this morning that 700 federal agents will leave the state today. NPR's Estelle Timar-Wilcox was at the press conference at the Whipple Federal Building near the Twin Cities Airport, and she joins me now from Minneapolis.
Hi, Estelle.
ESTELLE TIMAR-WILCOX: Hi, Kelly.
KELLY GORDON: So this decrease in federal agents here is a big shift. What did Homan say led to that?
ESTELLE TIMAR-WILCOX: Yeah, Homan cited cooperation from local elected officials and law enforcement leaders, who he's been meeting with over the last week. Specifically, he said he's getting more collaboration from county jails. He says more jails have agreed to cooperate with ICE, let ICE know when they're releasing someone who agents are looking to detain.
Homan didn't give an exact number of counties who have agreed to do this, and he didn't say whether Hennepin and Ramsey Counties specifically have made any of these agreements. But he says this increase in agreements will allow ICE agents to make more arrests straight from jail and require less agents to be out on the streets, which means less need for agents across the state, in general.
Homan said the departure of these 700 agents will still leave about 2,000 in the state. That's far more than the 150 or so that he said were usually assigned here before this operation started.
Homan stressed that even though this is a change in tactics, he's saying, he said the administration is not backing down from immigration enforcement in Minnesota. He said they'll focus on targeted enforcement, looking for specific people who've broken the law, but he said they're still ready to detain anyone who's in the country unlawfully.
TOM HOMAN: Again, this is smarter enforcement, not less enforcement. For those who are not a national security threat or public safety risk, you are not exempt from immigration enforcement actions. If you're in the country illegally, you are not off the table.
KELLY GORDON: Did Homan say what federal officials are looking for to actually end the operation, Estelle, or even just to continue the drawdown and send more officers out of the state?
ESTELLE TIMAR-WILCOX: Yeah, well, he didn't give a specific timeline on that. He did say he's looking for further cooperation from state and local leaders. He said he's continuing those meetings with some of those folks this week. And he also said he's still seeing community members and protesters interfere with ICE agents. He said he's waiting to see that change before he withdraws more agents.
TOM HOMAN: That depends on people that want to intimidate and interfere and put hands on ICE officers. Tone down the rhetoric, stop violating the law, impeding, and interfering with us and the drawdown will be quicker.
ESTELLE TIMAR-WILCOX: And ICE observers and community leaders have told us they dispute that claim from federal officials, that they're being violent. They blame ICE agents for escalating interactions with observers, including using tear gas on folks who are out watching ICE agents.
KELLY GORDON: Local leaders, and, of course, Governor Tim Walz have been calling for an end to this operation completely. So what are they saying now about this new step to decrease the number of agents?
ESTELLE TIMAR-WILCOX: Yeah. Governor Walz put out a statement on social media this morning. He said, quote, "It's a step in the right direction, but we need a faster and larger drawdown of forces, state-led investigations into the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, and an end to this campaign of retribution."
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said something similar. He said, "Drawing out 700 of nearly 3,000 agents isn't a significant enough de-escalation."
We've also heard from some community leaders. A coalition of Minnesota faith and labor organizers said this morning that it's, quote, "a political stunt." They said there's still thousands of agents here causing anxiety in the community. And they say the change in tone is just a response to funding and budget negotiations in Washington. Community leaders and immigrant rights activists have also noted that change in tone hasn't translated to a change in tactics that agents are using out on the streets. They say they're still seeing agents in their neighborhoods detaining people, and they plan to keep protesting and observing.
KELLY GORDON: All right. Well, thank you so much for your reporting today. That was MPR News's Estelle Timar-Wilcox.
Hi, Estelle.
ESTELLE TIMAR-WILCOX: Hi, Kelly.
KELLY GORDON: So this decrease in federal agents here is a big shift. What did Homan say led to that?
ESTELLE TIMAR-WILCOX: Yeah, Homan cited cooperation from local elected officials and law enforcement leaders, who he's been meeting with over the last week. Specifically, he said he's getting more collaboration from county jails. He says more jails have agreed to cooperate with ICE, let ICE know when they're releasing someone who agents are looking to detain.
Homan didn't give an exact number of counties who have agreed to do this, and he didn't say whether Hennepin and Ramsey Counties specifically have made any of these agreements. But he says this increase in agreements will allow ICE agents to make more arrests straight from jail and require less agents to be out on the streets, which means less need for agents across the state, in general.
Homan said the departure of these 700 agents will still leave about 2,000 in the state. That's far more than the 150 or so that he said were usually assigned here before this operation started.
Homan stressed that even though this is a change in tactics, he's saying, he said the administration is not backing down from immigration enforcement in Minnesota. He said they'll focus on targeted enforcement, looking for specific people who've broken the law, but he said they're still ready to detain anyone who's in the country unlawfully.
TOM HOMAN: Again, this is smarter enforcement, not less enforcement. For those who are not a national security threat or public safety risk, you are not exempt from immigration enforcement actions. If you're in the country illegally, you are not off the table.
KELLY GORDON: Did Homan say what federal officials are looking for to actually end the operation, Estelle, or even just to continue the drawdown and send more officers out of the state?
ESTELLE TIMAR-WILCOX: Yeah, well, he didn't give a specific timeline on that. He did say he's looking for further cooperation from state and local leaders. He said he's continuing those meetings with some of those folks this week. And he also said he's still seeing community members and protesters interfere with ICE agents. He said he's waiting to see that change before he withdraws more agents.
TOM HOMAN: That depends on people that want to intimidate and interfere and put hands on ICE officers. Tone down the rhetoric, stop violating the law, impeding, and interfering with us and the drawdown will be quicker.
ESTELLE TIMAR-WILCOX: And ICE observers and community leaders have told us they dispute that claim from federal officials, that they're being violent. They blame ICE agents for escalating interactions with observers, including using tear gas on folks who are out watching ICE agents.
KELLY GORDON: Local leaders, and, of course, Governor Tim Walz have been calling for an end to this operation completely. So what are they saying now about this new step to decrease the number of agents?
ESTELLE TIMAR-WILCOX: Yeah. Governor Walz put out a statement on social media this morning. He said, quote, "It's a step in the right direction, but we need a faster and larger drawdown of forces, state-led investigations into the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, and an end to this campaign of retribution."
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said something similar. He said, "Drawing out 700 of nearly 3,000 agents isn't a significant enough de-escalation."
We've also heard from some community leaders. A coalition of Minnesota faith and labor organizers said this morning that it's, quote, "a political stunt." They said there's still thousands of agents here causing anxiety in the community. And they say the change in tone is just a response to funding and budget negotiations in Washington. Community leaders and immigrant rights activists have also noted that change in tone hasn't translated to a change in tactics that agents are using out on the streets. They say they're still seeing agents in their neighborhoods detaining people, and they plan to keep protesting and observing.
KELLY GORDON: All right. Well, thank you so much for your reporting today. That was MPR News's Estelle Timar-Wilcox.
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