Following the brokering of “unprecedented” cooperation with local authorities in Minnesota, border czar Tom Homan announced a massive “drawdown” of federal immigration agents during a press conference on Wednesday morning.
Starting Wednesday, 700 federal immigration officers and agents will be leaving the Twin Cities area, Homan said. The personnel change comes after Homan said he secured deals with “an unprecedented number of counties” that have agreed to “allow ICE to take custody of illegal aliens before they hit the streets.”
That will leave 2,000 federal immigration agents in Minnesota, along with all the teams working on fraud investigations, Homan said.
The former ICE chief also met with Minnesota Democratic Governor Tim Walz, Minneapolis Democratic Mayor Jacob Frey, and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, along with local police chiefs, last week.
“We currently have an unprecedented number of counties communicating with us now and allowing ICE to take custody of illegal aliens before they hit the streets, unprecedented cooperation. And I’ll say it again, this is efficient, it requires only one or two officers to assume custody of a criminal alien target rather than eight or ten officers going into the community and arresting that public safety threat,” Homan said.
“More officers taking custody of criminal aliens directly from the jails, means less officers on the street doing criminal operations. This is smart law enforcement, not less law enforcement. This is safer for the community, safer for the officers, and safer for the alien,” he said.
Homan insisted that the Trump administration isn’t “surrendering” its mass deportation campaign.
Going forward, Border Patrol and ICE will now work together “under one unified command” rather than the separate “chains of command” they were previously operating under, according to Homan.
“Any large amount of force, an operation I’ve ever been involved with, there’s one chain of command,” he said.
Homan also clarified that while arrest operations will be “targeted,” focusing on nabbing the worst illegal immigrant criminals first, anyone who is in the country illegally is still on the table.
President Donald Trump sent Homan to Minneapolis last week, replacing Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, who was known for his aggressive and made-for-TV raids. Bovino’s tactics also included more sweeping patrols.
Bovino has since returned to his duties as the Border Patrol chief of California’s El Centro sector.
The leadership change came after two anti-ICE protesters were shot and killed by federal immigration agents.
To prevent further bloodshed, Homan said he’s asked local police chiefs to respond when federal immigration agents are up against violent protesters.
“Every chief I talked to, every one of them promised to respond to any public safety issue when our officers are out doing their sworn duty and people start crossing the line and they start impeding and interfering,” Homan said.
“There’s still more sheriffs we are in discussions with and are talking to, but I have not heard the word no,” he added.
Minnesota Sheriffs Association executive director James Stuart told The Daily Wire that the “vast majority” of sheriffs in the state want better communication with ICE, while also advocating for a draw down of federal agents.
Stuart said the deals with ICE and local sheriffs are not yet complete, adding that it’s “a work in progress” that could take weeks or months.
In an effort to increase transparency, the Trump administration will deploy body-worn cameras for all federal immigration officers in Minneapolis.
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