{"id":465258,"date":"2026-02-13T01:23:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T01:23:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/465258\/"},"modified":"2026-02-13T01:23:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T01:23:08","slug":"border-czar-tom-homan-says-the-minnesota-immigration-crackdown-is-ending","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/465258\/","title":{"rendered":"Border czar Tom Homan says the Minnesota immigration crackdown is ending"},"content":{"rendered":"

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) \u2014 The Trump administration is ending a massive immigration crackdown<\/a> that swept across the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and other Minnesota communities, border czar<\/a> Tom Homan said Thursday, concluding an operation that led to thousands of arrests, angry mass protests and the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens.<\/p>\n

The crackdown, which the Department of Homeland Security called its \u201c largest immigration enforcement operation ever<\/a>,\u201d became the most prominent flashpoint<\/a> in the debate over President Donald Trump\u2019s mass deportation efforts<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The surge of thousands of federal officers changed life across the Twin Cities<\/a>. Convoys of unmarked SUVs became commonplace in some immigrant neighborhoods, where residents could stumble onto masked men in body armor making arrests and throngs of protesters who filled the air with taunts, insults and shrieking whistles. <\/p>\n

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation, which flared up into street clashes after federal officers killed Renee Good<\/a> and Alex Pretti<\/a> in Minneapolis, became a major political distraction for the Trump administration. The announcement of a drawdown marked a significant retreat as a new AP-NORC poll found that most U.S. adults say Trump\u2019s immigration policies have gone too far<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Operation Metro Surge, which started in December<\/a>, resulted in more than 4,000 arrests, Homan told reporters Thursday morning, declaring it a success. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe surge is leaving Minnesota safer,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ll say it again: It\u2019s less of a sanctuary state for criminals.\u201d <\/p>\n

But while the administration portrayed its Minnesota targets as dangerous criminals, many had no criminal records and they included working families, children like 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos<\/a> and U.S. citizens.<\/p>\n

Relief and skepticism follow announcement<\/p>\n

In a city with a long history of progressive politics, there was skepticism, along with relief, at Homan\u2019s announcement. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe will believe it when we see it \u2014 and any ICE presence is a threat to everyone\u2019s safety,\u201d Minneapolis City Council Member Aurin Chowdhury said in a statement. \u201cWe will be left in the aftermath of destruction, and we will have to pick up the pieces of our communities.\u201d <\/p>\n

The surge sent waves of fear through immigrant communities, with children staying home from school or learning remotely, immigrant businesses temporarily shutting down and church pews left empty. Residents delivered thousands of meals to families too afraid to leave home. <\/p>\n

A sprawling activist network pushed back against the surge, with thousands of volunteers tracking the convoys of heavily armed federal agents. Clashes were commonplace for a time, with protesters throwing snowballs and spraying graffiti and officers sometimes using tear gas and pepper spray.<\/p>\n

Trump initially said the surge<\/a> was an effort to root out fraud in publicly funded programs, which he blamed on the state\u2019s large Somali community, most of whom are U.S. citizens. But it soon shifted gears toward other ethnic groups, such as Latinos and West Africans. <\/p>\n

State and local officials, who frequently clashed with federal authorities, say the swarm of immigration officials has inflicted long-term damage on Minnesota\u2019s economy and immigrant community. <\/p>\n

Russ Adams of the Lake Street Council, a nonprofit serving the largely immigrant neighborhood of the same name, estimated that businesses there lost tens of millions of dollars in December and January.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not going to recover in March, even if 2,000 ICE agents leave tomorrow,\u201d he said last week. \u201cYou don\u2019t come back from that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Governor urges continued vigilance<\/p>\n

Democratic Gov. Tim Walz<\/a> urged residents to remain vigilant in the coming days as immigration officers prepare to leave and said he will not express gratitude for the Trump administration officials who caused \u201cthis unnecessary, unwarranted and in many cases unconstitutional assault on our state.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a long road,\u201d Walz said at a news conference. \u201cMinnesotans are decent, caring, loving neighbors and they\u2019re also some of the toughest people you\u2019ll find. And we\u2019re in this as long as it takes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The governor proposed a $10 million aid package for businesses that have suffered, and he called on Washington to help fund the recovery.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t get to break things and then just leave without doing something about it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Homan was vague about a timeline for the drawdown, but Walz said Homan assured him that officers would start leaving immediately.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will help you get to the airport,\u201d the governor said. \u201cWe will clear the road to get to the airport. I will pack your damn bags if that\u2019s what it takes.\u201d <\/p>\n

Homeland Security funding dispute continues<\/p>\n

Homan\u2019s announcement came as Democratic lawmakers are demanding restraints<\/a> on immigration officers before agreeing to fund DHS. The Trump administration is trying to secure votes in Congress<\/a> to prevent federal funding from expiring at the end of the week.<\/p>\n

Walz, a former congressman, said the announcement does not make him any readier to support restoring DHS funding. He added that he has been in contact with Democratic leaders in both houses of Congress and urged them to \u201chold the line until you get the at least minimum reforms necessary in this rogue agency.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Washington, Republican Sen. Rand Paul said the shootings in Minneapolis changed how some Americans saw the immigration crackdown.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s clearly evident that the public trust has been lost,\u201d the Kentucky senator said at a Thursday hearing. \u201cTo restore trust in ICE and Border Patrol, they must admit their mistakes, be honest and forthright with their rules of engagement and pledge to reform.\u201d <\/p>\n

Homan says the surge will end but not enforcement<\/p>\n

\u201cPresident Trump made a promise of mass deportation, and that\u2019s what this country is going to get,\u201d Homan said.<\/p>\n

Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, said during the hearing that the agency is still looking for about 16,840 people in Minnesota with final orders of removal.<\/p>\n

Homan took over the operation<\/a> in late January after the second fatal shooting<\/a>, of Pretti, and amid growing political backlash<\/a> about how the operation was being run by Gregory Bovino, a proudly norm-breaking senior Border Patrol official who became the public face of the crackdown. <\/p>\n

\u2018Don\u2019t believe what they say\u2019<\/p>\n

Later Thursday, Sheila Rzepecki was among people visiting a makeshift memorial for Renee Good, an array of candles, posters, flowers and cards left at the scene of her shooting. <\/p>\n

Her son is disabled, she said, and his health aide, who is from Colombia, has been too scared to leave her home even though she is in the U.S. legally. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the fear they put into such wonderful people in our community,\u201d Rzepecki said. <\/p>\n

She dismissed the claim that the surge left the region safer, saying: \u201cThe people they are rounding up are the people that are so important to our community. Don\u2019t believe what they say.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many activists said the fight is not over. Lisa Erbes, a leader of the protest group Indivisible Twin Cities, said officials must be held accountable.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople have died. Families have been torn apart,\u201d Erbes said. \u201cWe can\u2019t just say this is over and forget the pain and suffering that has been put on the people of Minnesota.\u201d<\/p>\n

In New York, Mayor Zohran Mamdani met in the afternoon with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey to discuss ways to protect immigrants.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey thought they could break us, but a love for our neighbors and a resolve to endure can outlast an occupation,\u201d Frey said on social media. \u201cThese patriots of Minneapolis are showing that it\u2019s not just about resistance \u2014 standing with our neighbors is deeply American.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Associated Press reporters Mark Vancleave in Minneapolis; John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio; Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia; Elliot Spagat in San Diego; Rebecca Santana and Nathan Ellgren in Washington; and Jake Offenhartz in New York contributed. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MINNEAPOLIS (AP) \u2014 The Trump administration is ending a massive immigration crackdown that swept across the Minneapolis-St. Paul…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":465259,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[203372,23,12,793,98303,7922,790,23865,208119,216616,16950,6429,196794,6661,3,111,3775,53216,191965,200479,216615,4382,8631,21612,29207,3770,6148,795,21,792,19,22,20,25,24,800,10766],"class_list":["post-465258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-alex-pretti","tag-america","tag-donald-trump","tag-general-news","tag-gregory-bovino","tag-gun-violence","tag-immigration","tag-jacob-frey","tag-liam-conejo-ramos","tag-lisa-erbes","tag-minneapolis","tag-minnesota","tag-minnesota-ice-crackdown","tag-mn-state-wire","tag-news","tag-politics","tag-protests-and-demonstrations","tag-rand-paul","tag-renee-good","tag-send-to-apple-news","tag-sheila-rzepecki","tag-shootings","tag-tim-walz","tag-todd-lyons","tag-tom-homan","tag-u-s-department-of-homeland-security","tag-u-s-immigration-and-customs-enforcement","tag-u-s-news","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-government","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-washington-news","tag-zohran-mamdani"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465258","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=465258"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465258\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/465259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=465258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=465258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=465258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}