Trump's border czar is pulling 700 immigration officers out of Minnesota
immediately
[February 05, 2026]
By STEVE KARNOWSKI
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Trump administration is reducing the number of
immigration officers in Minnesota but will continue its enforcement
operation that has sparked weeks of tensions and deadly confrontations,
border czar Tom Homan said Wednesday.
About 700 federal officers — roughly a quarter of the total deployed to
Minnesota — will be withdrawn immediately after state and local
officials agreed over the past week to cooperate by turning over
arrested immigrants, Homan said.
But he did not provide a timeline for when the administration might end
the operation that has become a flashpoint in the debate over President
Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts since the fatal shootings of
U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
About 2,000 officers will remain in the state after this week’s
drawdown, Homan said. That’s roughly the same number sent to Minnesota
in early January when the surge ramped up, kicking off what the
Department of Homeland Security called its “ largest immigration
enforcement operation ever.”
Since then, masked, heavily armed officers have been met by resistance
from residents who are upset with their aggressive tactics.
A widespread pullout, Homan said, will occur only after there's more
cooperation and protesters stop interfering with federal agents carrying
out arrests.
Trump told NBC News that he ordered the reduction and added that one
lesson coming out of the turmoil in Minnesota is “maybe we can use a
little bit of a softer touch. But you still have to be tough.”
Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, both Democrats who have
heavily criticized the surge, said pulling back 700 officers was a good
first step but that the entire operation should end quickly.
“We need a faster and larger drawdown of forces, state-led
investigations into the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, and an
end to this campaign of retribution,” Walz posted on social media.
Vice President JD Vance said the officers being sent home were mainly in
Minneapolis to protect those carrying out arrests. “We’re not drawing
down the immigration enforcement,” Vance said in an interview on “The
Megyn Kelly Show.”
Trump administration has pushed for cooperation in Minnesota
Trump's border czar took over the Minnesota operation in late January
after the second fatal shooting by federal officers and amid growing
political backlash and questions about how the operation was being run.
Homan said right away that federal officials could reduce the number of
agents in Minnesota, but only with the cooperation of state and local
officials. He pushed for jails to alert Immigration and Customs
Enforcement about inmates who could be deported, saying transferring
those inmates to ICE is safer because it means fewer officers have to be
out looking for people in the country illegally.
Homan said during a news conference Wednesday that there has been an
“increase in unprecedented collaboration” resulting in the need for
fewer public safety officers in Minnesota and a safer environment,
allowing for the withdrawal of the 700 officers.
He didn’t say which jurisdictions have been cooperating with DHS. White
House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that the
administration will monitor local officials to make sure they keep their
commitments.
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A person is detained by federal agents on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, in
Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)
The Trump administration has long complained that places known as
sanctuary jurisdictions — a term applied to local governments that
limit law enforcement cooperation with the department — hinder the
arrest of criminal immigrants.
Minnesota officials say its state prisons and nearly all of the
county sheriffs already cooperate with immigration authorities.
But the two county jails that serve Minneapolis and St. Paul and
take in the most inmates had not previously met ICE’s standard of
full cooperation, although they both hand over inmates to federal
authorities when an arrest warrant is signed by a judge.
The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, which serves Minneapolis and
several suburbs, said its policies have not changed. County Attorney
Mary Moriarty said the jail gives ICE legally required information,
adding that handing over someone before they're convicted “strips
our community of the accountability it deserves and harms victims by
robbing them of a court process.”
The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office in neighboring St. Paul did not
immediately respond to a request for comment.
Border czar calls Minnesota operation a success
Homan said he thinks the ICE operation in Minnesota has been a
success, checking off a list of people wanted for violent crimes who
were taken off the streets.
“I think it’s very effective as far as public safety goes,” he said
Wednesday. “Was it a perfect operation? No.”
He also made clear that pulling some federal officers out of
Minnesota isn't a sign that the administration is backing down. “We
are not surrendering the president’s mission on a mass deportation
operation,” Homan said.
“You’re not going to stop ICE. You’re not going to stop Border
Patrol,” Homan said of the ongoing protests. “The only thing you’re
doing is irritating your community.”
Schools ask court to block immigration operations
Two Minnesota school districts and a teachers union filed a lawsuit
Wednesday to block federal authorities from conducting immigration
enforcement at or around schools, saying their actions have
disrupted classes, endangered students and caused attendance drops.
The lawsuit also argues that Operation Metro Surge has marked a
shift in policy that removed long-standing limits on enforcement in
“sensitive locations,” including schools.
Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said “ICE is not
going to schools to arrest children — we are protecting children.”
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Associated Press reporters Corey Williams in Detroit; John Seewer in
Toledo, Ohio; and Moriah Balingit in Washington contributed.
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