White House official says hundreds of federal agents are leaving Minnesota, 'small' security force will remain for a time
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White House border czar Tom Homan said Sunday that more than 1,000 immigration agents have left Minnesota and hundreds more will depart in the days ahead, as the Trump administration winds down its immigration enforcement surge in the state.
A “small” security force will stay for a short period to protect remaining immigration agents and will respond “when our agents are out and they get surrounded by agitators and things get out of control,” Homan told CBS’s “Face the Nation.” He did not define “small,” and he did not give a specific timeline for when the overall operation will end.
He also said agents will keep investigating fraud allegations in Minnesota, as well as last month’s protest at Cities Church in St. Paul.
“We already removed well over 1,000 (agents), and as of Monday, Tuesday, we’ll remove several hundred more,” Homan said, days after announcing that the Trump administration was ending the operation. “We’ll get back to the original footprint.”
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Thousands of officers were sent to the Minneapolis and St. Paul area for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's “Operation Metro Surge.” The Department of Homeland Security said it was its largest immigration enforcement operation ever, and the agency said it was successful. But the crackdown came under increasing criticism as the situation grew more volatile and two U.S. citizens were killed.
Protests became common. A network of residents worked to help immigrants, warn of approaching agents or film immigration officers’ actions. The shooting deaths of Renee Macklin Good and Alex Pretti by federal officers drew condemnation and raised questions over officers’ conduct, prompting changes to the operation.
Homan has previously said that even as the surge ends, immigration enforcement will not stop in the Twin Cities — and that mass deportations will continue across the country. Officers leaving Minnesota will report back to their stations or be assigned elsewhere.
When asked Sunday if future deployments around the country could match the scale of the Twin Cities operation, Homan said “it depends on the situation.”
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