Trump administration to end surge of immigration agents in Minnesota

The Trump administration said Thursday that it was ending its deployment of immigration agents to Minnesota, unwinding an aggressive operation that has stretched for more than two months despite loud opposition from residents and local officials.

Tom Homan, the White House border czar, said “a significant drawdown has already been underway this week, and will continue to the next week.”

Homan said he had made arrangements for immigration agents to have more access to inmates without legal status held at county jails in Minnesota, and that he had held productive conversations with state officials. He did not immediately provide details of agreements reached with Minnesota officials.

“As a result of our efforts here, Minnesota is now less of a sanctuary state for criminals,” Homan said.

For many Minnesotans who had watched the federal government exert its will on their state — wielding law enforcement power and physical force at a scale that had no modern precedent in the US — Homan’s announcement signaled a welcome shift.

Still, news of a drawdown was greeted with skepticism. “I’ll believe it when I see it,” said Elliott Payne, the president of the Minneapolis City Council.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who described the operation as “an unprecedented federal invasion in all aspects of life,” said he was “cautiously optimistic” after the announcement by Homan.

“They left us with deep damage, generational trauma,” he said. “They left us with economic ruin in some cases.”

Since the immigration crackdown began late last year, federal agents have said that they arrested more than 4,000 people in Minnesota and have shot three, including two US citizens who were killed. Protesters have trailed federal officers through the Twin Cities, blowing whistles to alert people to their presence, and immigration agents have often responded with anger and force. The Democrats who run Minnesota have referred to the operation as an illegal occupation, while Republicans in Washington have accused local officials of obstruction and opened criminal investigations.

About 3,000 agents flooded into the state, outnumbering the police forces in Minneapolis and St. Paul, and their fatal shootings of Renee Good, a mother of three, and Alex Pretti, an intensive-care nurse, set off protests across the country. The Trump administration rushed to cast Good and Pretti as domestic terrorists, persisting even when their claims were called into question by videos. Also last month, an agent shot and wounded a Venezuelan man who officials said was in the country illegally and had resisted arrest.

Bipartisan concern about the killing of Pretti, who was shot Jan. 24, led to something of a tone shift. Gregory Bovino, the Border Patrol commander who had been leading the crackdown, was removed and Homan was dispatched to Minnesota, where he struck a conciliatory tone.

On Thursday, Homan thanked by name some of the Minnesota officials who have been singled out for criticism by others in the Trump administration.

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

Even as officials began meeting behind closed doors, the Trump administration and Minnesota’s leaders remained at odds over policies that limit cooperation on immigration enforcement. Although Minnesota does not have sweeping statewide “sanctuary” measures for immigrants, federal officials have complained about limited access to immigrants held in county jails and about municipal limits on cooperation in Minneapolis and St. Paul.

The Trump administration has repeatedly defended its work in Minnesota as a necessary response to that limited cooperation, as well as to widespread fraud in state welfare programs. State and city leaders filed a lawsuit claiming the operation was an unconstitutional violation of state sovereignty but failed to convince a judge to grant an injunction.

From the beginning of the deployment, residents in the heavily Democratic Twin Cities formed neighborhood chat groups and started informal patrols to monitor and sometimes confront immigration agents. Federal officials said those protesters had often crossed the line into obstruction or violence, and several of them were charged with federal crimes. Activists accused federal officials of systematically using threats, tear gas and physical force against nonviolent protesters and of squelching First Amendment rights. A federal judge briefly imposed restrictions on agents’ actions toward protesters last month, but her ruling was blocked by an appellate court.

The practical effect of Thursday’s announcement remained somewhat unclear. Homan said last week that he was pulling about 700 agents out of the state. But in the days that followed, many residents and local officials said that immigration agents still seemed to be all around and that the region still seemed to be enmeshed in the crackdown.

Homan said Thursday that the president had agreed with the decision to wind down the Minnesota operation. Homan said “a small footprint of personnel” would remain in Minnesota, while most agents would be sent back to their home bases or to other locations.

Homan called the Minnesota operation a success, and said the drawdown should not be seen as a sign of the administration changing its stance on immigration enforcement.

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

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey celebrated the end of the immigration crackdown and praised how residents had responded. He said the immigration operation had been “catastrophic” for Minneapolis families and businesses.

“They thought they could break us, but a love for our neighbors and a resolve to endure can outlast an occupation,” Frey said in a statement.