Tom Homan, the border czar chosen by US President Donald Trump, said on Thursday that a significant reduction in immigration agents in Minnesota is underway and that Trump has agreed to his proposal to end the wave of deportations.
As part of Operation Metro Surge, Trump had by the end of January deployed about 3,000 armed immigration agents to deport migrants in Minnesota.
The surge led to tumultuous scenes in Minneapolis, the state’s largest city. Residents took to the streets, some blowing whistles, in protest against masked agents armed with military equipment. On different days in January, immigration agents shot and killed two US citizens who had gone out to protest or observe the agents’ actions.
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“I have proposed and President Trump has agreed that this operation Surge be terminated,” Homan told reporters at a press conference.
A week ago, Homan announced that around 700 of the 3,000 immigration agents would be withdrawn. On Thursday, he said many of the remaining agents sent from other states would be sent home the following week, citing in part what he called “unprecedented” coordination with local law enforcement agencies in Minnesota. Before the increase, about 150 immigration agents worked in Minnesota.
The deportation operations were vehemently opposed 🏽 by Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, a Democrat, and other elected officials in the state. His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who last month joined Walz in a lawsuit against the Trump administration and asked a judge to restrict enforcement of deportations, said in a statement that the increase in the number of agents was catastrophic.
“They thought they could break us, but the love for our neighbors and the determination to resist can last longer than an occupation,” Frey said upon receiving Homan’s announcement.
Minnesota’s chief federal judge rebuked Trump administration officials, saying U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement defied dozens of court orders to release wrongfully detained migrants.
Some of Trump’s Republican peers also criticized the way the surge in deportations was carried out and the administration’s handling of the murders of two Americans, Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
