‘We are not surrendering our mission at all, we’re just doing [it] smarter,’ Homan said.
White House border czar Tom Homan said on Jan. 29 that he has made significant progress during his meetings in Minneapolis, allowing for the drawdown of federal agents and the conduct of “targeted enforcement operations” in the city.
Speaking during a press conference in Minneapolis, Homan said state and city officials agreed to honor Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainers in prisons, which will allow for a drawdown of federal agents.
ICE will focus on targeted immigration enforcement, focusing on criminal illegal immigrants, he noted.
“We are not surrendering our mission at all, we’re just doing [it] smarter,” Homan said.
President Donald Trump sent Homan to Minneapolis following unrest after a federal agent fatally shot protester Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse, during a federal immigration enforcement operation.
“We’ve made a lot of progress in the last three days,” Homan said as he began his speech.
The border czar said Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison confirmed that jails would notify ICE before releasing an illegal immigrant wanted for criminal offenses, allowing the federal agents to take custody when the person is released.
The Trump administration has repeatedly called for sanctuary jurisdictions to cooperate with ICE detainers.
Homan noted that increased cooperation from local officials would allow for a gradual reduction in the number of federal agents. He said his staff is “working on a drawdown plan” for the state.
“The withdrawal of law enforcement resources here is dependent upon cooperation,” Homan told reporters. “As we see that cooperation happens, then the redeployment will happen.”
On Jan. 27, Homan met individually with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.
Homan, in a post on X, described the meetings as productive and said he also spoke with senior law enforcement officials “to discuss the issues on the ground” in Minnesota.
“No agency organization is perfect,” Homan said during the press conference. “President Trump and I, along with others in the administration, have recognized that certain improvements could and should be made. That’s exactly what I’m doing here.”
He also said that during his meetings with state and city officials, all acknowledged that federal immigration laws were passed by Congress and that ICE is “a legitimate law enforcement agency charged with enforcing those laws.”
He said he would stay in the state “until the problem is gone.”
Protesters and federal agents have clashed during recent enforcement operations in Minnesota. Demonstrations escalated after a federal agent in Minneapolis fatally shot U.S. citizen Renee Good, who was accused of driving her SUV toward an officer during an ICE operation on Jan. 7.
By Emel Akan
