‘This is smarter enforcement, not less,’ the border czar said.
White House border czar Tom Homan said on Feb. 4 that the Trump administration will immediately draw down 700 immigration agents from Minnesota.
The reduction was made possible due to the “unprecedented cooperation” with local counties on honoring Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainers on illegal immigrant prisoners, Homan said at a press conference in Minneapolis. ICE detainers ask jails to notify federal authorities before an illegal immigrant prisoner is to be released, so federal agents can detain them for removal.
“This is smarter enforcement, not less,” Homan said.
The move comes amid heightened scrutiny of federal immigration operations after the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
Homan said the administration is not drawing down on personnel providing security for the officers.
The Trump administration’s goal is to end the surge of federal agents in the city, Homan said. But this will depend on continued cooperation with local authorities, and a decrease in attacks and hateful rhetoric against ICE and border patrol agents, he added.
In Minneapolis, federal law enforcement has arrested 14 people who had homicide convictions, 87 people with sex-related offenses, 28 gang members, and 139 people who had assault convictions, he said.
The border czar called on people to stop impeding law enforcement operations.
“Everyone has a constitutional right to peacefully protest. President Trump and I, we completely support that,” he said. “At the same time, professional law enforcement officers should and need to be able to perform their sworn duties without being harassed, impeded, or assaulted.”
This is developing and will be updated.
