Gov. Tim Walz said Tuesday he hopes White House Border Czar Tom Homan will announce this week an end to the surge of federal agents in Minnesota.
“It would be my hope that Mr. Homan goes out before Friday and announces that this thing is done,” and that it will be done in a matter of days, Walz said Tuesday at a press conference discussing the economic impacts of Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in the state. “That would be my expectation.”
Walz said that statement is based on conversations he had with Homan on Monday and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles on Tuesday.
“I’m very careful with dealing with this administration,” Walz said. “I’ll let them make the announcements. We have been absolutely clear that they need to reduce these numbers back to the pre-surge level, which has been about 150.”
Homan has said it’s his intention to reach a complete drawdown of the roughly 2,000 federal agents remaining in the state, but that it’s contingent on continued state and local cooperation.
Last week Homan announced the withdrawal of about 700 federal officers — roughly a quarter of the total deployed to Minnesota — after state and local officials agreed to cooperate by turning over arrested immigrants.
Homan has said he thinks the ICE operation in Minnesota has been a success with a number of individuals wanted for violent crimes being taken off the streets. Critics say immigration agents have detained legal residents — in some cases based on racial profiling — and have made the Twin Cities less safe.
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.
Federal officials began an immigration action in the state with thousands of agents. Since then, masked, heavily armed officers have been met by resistance from residents who are upset with their aggressive tactics. Renee Good was fatally shot by a federal agent on Jan. 7. Alex Pretti was killed on Jan. 24.
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