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Border czar Tom Homan announced Thursday the surge of federal immigration officers in Minnesota is concluding, with a drawdown set to occur over the course of next week.
“I have proposed, and President Trump has concurred, that this surge operation conclude,” Homan said.
Homan says the decision was made after looking at two major factors: the multitude of “public safety threat” arrests the operation has yielded, and a steep drop in the need for federal officers to call in QRF (quick response force) teams due to “agitators.”
“That is a good thing. That is a win for everybody, not just for the safety of law enforcement officers,” Homan said. “It’s a win for this community.”
He said a “significant drawdown” is already underway in the state, adding, “I don’t want to see any more bloodshed.”
“We have a lot of work to do across this country to remove public safety risk, who shouldn’t even be in this country. And to deliver on President Trump’s promise for strong border security and mass deportation, law enforcement officers drawn down from this surge operation will either return to the duty station or be assigned elsewhere to achieve just that.”
Homan arrived in Minnesota in late January, less than a week after federal officials announced Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino and some of his agents would be leaving the area.
Scott McFetridge / AP
On Feb. 4, Homan said federal authorities were going to immediately “draw down” 700 law enforcement personnel in Minnesota and that around 2,000 agents would remain in the state. The number was around 150 before the surge.
“My goal, with the support of President Trump, is to achieve a complete drawdown and end this surge as soon as we can, but that is largely contingent upon the end of illegal and threatening activities against ICE and its federal partners that we’re seeing in the community,” Homan said earlier this month.
Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday said he expected Operation Metro Surge to last “days, not weeks and months.”
White House officials said earlier this month that there have been at least 4,000 arrests in Minnesota connected with the federal operation.
