The Trump administration is winding down its large-scale immigration operation in Minnesota after thousands of arrests, violent protests and two fatal shootings, while officials say mass deportation efforts will continue nationwide.
The Trump administration has decided to end its immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota, a campaign that over the past two months led to thousands of arrests, widespread protests and the fatal shootings of two US citizens. Border czar Tom Homan announced the move on Thursday.
The effort, described by the Department of Homeland Security as its “largest immigration enforcement operation ever,” became a focal point in the national debate surrounding President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda. Tensions escalated sharply following the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who were shot by federal officers in Minneapolis.
According to Homan, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation, concentrated in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region, resulted in more than 4,000 arrests. He characterized the campaign as effective and maintained that it improved public safety.
“The surge is leaving Minnesota safer,” Homan said, adding, “I’ll say it again, it’s less of a sanctuary state for criminals.”
The decision to wind down the operation represents a step back from a strategy that had become politically burdensome for the administration. The Minnesota crackdown proved more volatile than similar actions previously carried out in Chicago and Los Angeles and had drawn intense scrutiny and protest.
Despite ending the Minnesota initiative, Homan made clear that federal immigration enforcement efforts will continue elsewhere. He emphasized that the conclusion of this specific operation does not signal a halt to the administration’s broader deportation strategy.
“President Trump made a promise of mass deportation and that’s what this country is going to get,” Homan said.
Democratic Gov. Tim Walz said Tuesday that he expected Operation Metro Surge, which started in December, to end in “days, not weeks and months,” based on his conversations with senior Trump administration officials.
While the Trump administration has called those arrested in Minnesota “dangerous criminal illegal aliens,” many people with no criminal records, including children and U.S. citizens, have also been detained.
Homan announced last week that 700 federal officers would leave Minnesota immediately, but that still left more than 2,000 on Minnesota’s streets. At the time, he cited an “increase in unprecedented collaboration” resulting in the need for fewer federal officers in Minnesota, including help from jails that hold deportable inmates.
Homan said Thursday that the drawdown began this week and will continue next week. He said he plans to stay in Minnesota to oversee the drawdown.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said Tuesday he had a “positive meeting” with Homan a day earlier and discussed the potential for a further drawdown of federal officers.
Homan took over the Minnesota operation in late January after the second fatal shooting by federal immigration agents and amid growing political backlash and questions about how the operation was being run.
“We’re very much in a trust but verify mode,” Walz said Tuesday, adding that he expected to hear more from the administration “in the next day or so” about the future of what he said has been an “occupation” and a “retribution campaign” against the state.
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