The White House’s top immigration official announced Sunday that more than 1,000 federal enforcement agents have already withdrawn from Minnesota’s Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area, with several hundred additional departures planned in the coming days as the Trump administration scales back its massive immigration crackdown.
Border czar Tom Homan revealed during an appearance on CBS’s Face the Nation that a limited security team will remain temporarily to safeguard continuing immigration personnel and will intervene “when our agents are out and they get surrounded by agitators and things got out of control.” Homan did not specify the exact size of this remaining force, describing it only as “small.”
According to Homan, agents will continue pursuing investigations into alleged fraud cases and examining the anti-enforcement demonstration that interrupted a religious service at a local church.
“We already removed well over 1,000 people, and as of Monday, Tuesday, we’ll remove several hundred more,” Homan stated. “We’ll get back to the original footprint.”
The Minneapolis-St. Paul region became the focus of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s “Operation Metro Surge,” which involved deploying thousands of federal officers. The Department of Homeland Security characterized this as the most extensive immigration enforcement action in the agency’s history, claiming it achieved its objectives.
However, the intensive operation faced mounting opposition as tensions escalated and resulted in the deaths of two American citizens. Community resistance became widespread, with local residents organizing networks to assist immigrants, alert communities about approaching federal agents, and document officers’ activities. The fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal personnel sparked public outcry and scrutiny of officer behavior, ultimately leading to operational modifications.
Last week, Homan initially announced the immediate departure of 700 federal officers from Minnesota, though this still left over 2,000 personnel in the state. By Thursday, he indicated that a “significant drawdown” was already in progress and would extend through the current week.
Homan emphasized that enforcement activities would persist in the Twin Cities area and that nationwide mass deportation efforts would continue uninterrupted. The agents departing Minnesota will either return to their original duty stations or receive new assignments elsewhere.
Regarding the possibility of future operations matching the Twin Cities deployment’s magnitude, Homan responded that “it depends on the situation.”
