Border Czar Announces Withdrawal of 700 Federal Officers in Minnesota

The Trump administration is withdrawing 700 federal immigration agents in Minnesota “effective immediately,” White House border czar Tom Homan announced on Feb. 4 during a press conference in Minneapolis. Despite the reduction in personnel, Homan affirmed that immigration crackdowns will persist within the state.

Nearly 25% of the total number of federal officers deployed to Minnesota will be removed following an agreement with state and local officials. According to the agreement, lawmakers will work alongside the federal government by turning over arrested immigrants.

Homan described the effort between the two parties as “unprecedented cooperation,” praising the agreement's boost in efficiency and reduced resource use.

“More officers taking custody of criminal aliens directly from the jails means less officers on the street doing criminal operations,” Homan added. “This is smart law enforcement, not less law enforcement.”

Homan shared during the conference that roughly 2,000 federal officers will continue immigration operations in Minnesota, with Minneapolis and St. Paul being heavily concentrated.

The number of agents that will remain in the state is nearly the same as the number of immigration personnel that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) deployed to the state in early January, in what they called their “largest immigration enforcement operation ever.”

Homan assured that a “complete drawdown” in the state will require continued cooperation from state and local officials, with a “decrease of the violence, the rhetoric and the attacks against [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] and Border Patrol.”

During the conference, he insisted that the administration is “not surrendering” its current mission in the region.

“We’re not surrendering the president’s mission on a mass-deportation operation,” Homan expressed. “If you’re in the country illegally, if we find you, we’ll deport you. But this is about a targeted enforcement operation, and that’s what we’re going to be doing.”