US border czar says immigration crackdown in Minnesota will ‘conclude’

The Trump administration has claimed it is drawing down its immigration crackdown in Minnesota that led to the death of two US citizens, mass detentions and widespread protests.

The move was announced by Tom Homan, the US border czar, at a press briefing on Thursday.

“I have proposed, and President Trump has concurred that this surge operation conclude,” Homan said, claiming that “a significant drawdown” has already been underway this week and will continue to the next week.

Agents in Minnesota will be returned to their normal duties or assigned elsewhere, Homan said. The number of agents in Minnesota will return to normal levels, which is about 100 agents, officials have previously said. But security teams will stay in place to respond to what Homan called “agitators” who oppose immigration agents’ work in the state.

Homan said he will remain on the ground in Minnesota for “a little longer” to oversee the drawdown of agents.

Local and state officials had expressed they were hopeful for a drawdown, based on meetings with Homan, but that they wouldn’t believe it until they saw the evidence on the ground.

Tim Walz, the Democratic governor of the state, responded on social media to the news with a simple: “Thank you, Minnesota.”

Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat, also praised the city’s residents.

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

Frey added that the operation has been “catastrophic” for the city’s people and businesses, and that it was time for a “great comeback”.

“We will show the same commitment to our immigrant residents and endurance in this reopening, and I’m hopeful the whole country will stand with us as we move forward,” he said.

Walz is expected to announce an economic recovery proposal on Thursday.

During the months-long crackdown, federal agents killed two US citizens – Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti – who had been observing agents’ activities, sparking protests nationwide and a surge in local organizing to follow agents and provide food and supplies for immigrants, including those with legal status, who didn’t feel safe leaving their homes.

Homan took over the immigration crackdown in Minnesota from Greg Bovino, a senior border patrol official, who was overseeing the operation when both of the killings happened.

Homan announced earlier this month that he was sending home roughly 700 agents, which left about 2,000 still in the state. Since that announcement, agents have been removing people from their communities throughout the state, increasingly in suburban and rural areas.

The surge of agents began in early December with thousands of agents, then increased again in January. The number of agents outpaced local law enforcement.

Homan cited an “unprecedented level of coordination” with local law enforcement as a factor in the drawdown, claiming that local law enforcement was now responding to scenes when people protesting agents posed a public safety threat or violated local ordinances. He also said agents are now working with jails in the state to have them turn over undocumented people in their custody, though not keeping them detained locally for any longer than their sentences.

He claimed Minnesota is “now less of a sanctuary state for criminals” because of the federal incursion, which he called a “success”.

He also reiterated that Donald Trump’s mass deportation scheme will continue nationwide.

“For those who say we are backing down from immigration enforcement or the promise of mass deportations, you are simply wrong,” he said. He added that the priority is to go after people who pose public safety or national security threats, but that “doesn’t mean we forget about everybody else. We will take action on everybody else.”