MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Trump administration is ending the immigration crackdown in Minnesota, border czar Tom Homan said Thursday of the two-month operation that led to thousands of arrests, angry mass protests and the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens.
The operation, which the Department of Homeland Security called its “ largest immigration enforcement operation ever, ” has been a flashpoint in the debate over President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts, flaring up after Renee Good and Alex Pretti were killed by federal officers in Minneapolis.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation focused on the Minneapolis-St. Paul area resulted in more than 4,000 arrests, Homan said, touting it as a success.
“The surge is leaving Minnesota safer,” he said. “I’ll say it again, it’s less of a sanctuary state for criminals.”
The announcement marks a significant retreat from an operation that has become a major distraction for the Trump administration and more volatile than prior crackdowns in Chicago and Los Angeles. It comes as a new AP-NORC poll found that most U.S. adults say Trump's immigration policies have gone too far.
Trump initially said the surge was an effort to root out fraud in publicly funded programs, for which he blamed the state's large Somali community, most of whom are U.S. citizens. But the drive soon shifted gears toward other ethnic groups such as Latinos. While the administration has portrayed those caught up in the Minnesota sweeps as “dangerous criminal illegal aliens,” many of them are people with no criminal records, children including 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, and U.S. citizens.
State and local officials, who have frequently clashed with federal authorities since Operation Metro Surge started in December, insist the swarm of immigration officials has inflicted long-term damage on the state's economy and its immigrant community.
Minnesota's governor urges continued vigilance
Democratic Gov. Tim Walz urged residents Thursday to remain vigilant in the coming days as immigration officers prepare to leave, saying he's not going to express gratitude for the Trump administration officials who caused "this unnecessary, unwarranted and in many cases unconstitutional assault on our state.”
“It’s going to be a long road,” Walz said at a news conference where he proposed a $10 million aid package for businesses that have lost revenue because of the immigration enforcement operation. “Minnesotans are decent, caring, loving neighbors and they’re also some of the toughest people you’ll find. And we’re in this as long as it takes.”
The governor called on Washington to help fund the recovery.
“The federal government needs to pay for what they broke here. ... You don’t get to break things and then just leave without doing something about it,” he said.
Homan was vague about a timeline for the drawdown. But Walz said Homan had assured him Thursday morning that federal officers would start leaving immediately.
"So as soon as they can pack their stuff, book a plane, move on. I would volunteer — we will help you get to the airport. We will clear the road to get to the airport. I will pack your damn bags if that’s what it takes,” the governor said.
Homeland Security funding dispute continues
Homan's announcement came as Democratic lawmakers demand restraints on immigration officers before agreeing to fund DHS. The Trump administration is trying to secure votes in Congress to prevent federal funding from expiring at the end of the week.
Walz, a former congressman, said Homan's announcement doesn't make him any readier to support restoring DHS funding.
The governor said he has been in contact with Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, urging them to “hold the line until you get the at least minimum reforms necessary in this rogue agency.”
In Washington, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat who sits on the Homeland Security committee, told reporters he'll continue to insist on “fundamental and far reaching reforms” at ICE as a condition of funding for DHS.
“If Republicans are unwilling to accept reforms and DHS shuts down as a result, they have to explain to the American people why they are imposing this burden simply as a result of demands by the American people for reforms in the way this out-of-control agency needs to be reined in,” Blumenthal said.
Homan says the surge will end but enforcement won't stop
Homan said immigration enforcement won’t end in the state when the Minnesota operation is over and that the local ICE office will stay in the fight.
“President Trump made a promise of mass deportation and that’s what this country is going to get,” Homan said.
Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, said during a hearing in Washington on Thursday that ICE officers are still looking for about 16,840 people in Minnesota with final orders of removal.
Homan took over the Minnesota operation in late January after the second fatal shooting by federal immigration agents and amid growing political backlash about how the operation was being run. He said Thursday that he intends to stay in Minnesota to oversee the drawdown that will continue into next week.
“We’ve seen a big change here in the last couple of weeks,” he said, crediting cooperation from local leaders.
Minnesota leaders praise the resistance
During the height of the surge, heavily armed officers were met by resistance from residents upset with their aggressive tactics. U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar said Minnesotans offered a model of resistance and she renewed calls to rein in Trump’s mass deportation campaign.
“Minnesotans stood together, stared down ICE, and never blinked,” the Minnesota Democrat said. “Our state has shown the world how to protect our democracy and take care of our neighbors. ICE withdrawing from Minnesota is just the beginning. We need accountability for the lives lost and the extraordinary abuses of power at the hands of ICE agents, and we must see a complete overhaul of the agency.”
Some activists expressed relief at Homan’s announcement, but warned that the fight isn’t over. Lisa Erbes, a leader of the progressive protest group Indivisible Twin Cities, said officials, must be held accountable for the chaos of the crackdown.
“People have died. Families have been torn apart,” Erbes said. “We can’t just say this is over and forget the pain and suffering that has been put on the people of Minnesota.”
In New York, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he would meet Thursday afternoon with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey to discuss ways to protect immigrants from the Trump administration.
“They thought they could break us, but a love for our neighbors and a resolve to endure can outlast an occupation,” Frey said on social media. “These patriots of Minneapolis are showing that it’s not just about resistance — standing with our neighbors is deeply American.”
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Associated Press writers Tim Sullivan in Minneapolis; John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio; Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia; Elliot Spagat, Rebecca Santana and Nathan Ellgren in Washington, D.C.; and Jake Offenhartz in New York, contributed.
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