Trump Border Tsar Says That, With State Cooperation, Surge by ICE in Minnesota Could Wind Down

Admitting that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in Minneapolis has not been carried out “perfectly,” the man now in charge of the operation, “border tsar” Tom Homan says he is looking to fix the issues before carrying on with his mission.“I didn’t come to Minnesota for photo ops or headlines, you haven’t seen me. I came here to seek solutions,” Mr. Homan said at a news conference on Thursday morning.President Trump sent Mr. Homan to Minnesota Monday after last weekend’s fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by Border Patrol agents.Mr. Homan says that, moving forward, agents will concentrate on targeted operations. “What we’ve been working on is making this operation safer, more efficient, by the book,” Mr. Homan said.Mr. Homan says”great progress” was made in meetings with Governor Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis.“We didn’t agree on everything. I didn’t expect to agree on everything,” Mr. Homan said. “Bottom line, you can’t fix problems if you don’t have discussions.”Mr. Homan said that the ICE surge could wind down if federal agents gain broader access to local jails to take criminal illegal aliens into federal custody.Mr. Homan said Mr. Ellison told him county jails have permission to inform federal authorities of the release dates of illegal immigrants so they can detain them in the safety of the jail instead of chasing them down in the streets.“The withdrawal of law enforcement resources here is dependent upon cooperation,” Mr. Homan said.Mr. Homan also asked for residents and leaders of Minnesota to stop the “hostile rhetoric.”“ICE and CPB officers are carrying out their duties in challenging circumstances,” Mr. Homan said. He added that because of protesters, the extra agents are needed to protect officers carrying out the arrests.Mr. Homan did not confirm a report by Reuters that ICE officers in Minnesota have updated guidance not to interact with “agitators.” He also declined to speak on the deaths of Pretti and Renee Good, who was fatally shot earlier in the month, saying he needs to let the investigations play out.The killings of Good and Pretti have brought outrage across the country and Democrats in the Senate have vowed to withhold votes for a spending package that would bring another partial government shutdown on Saturday.Senator Thom Tillis, who has been a vocal critic of how the ICE operation has been carried out in Minnesota, seemed encouraged by Mr. Homan’s words. “This is what competent leadership looks like,” Mr. Tillis said in an X post.Minnesota is not the only state that ICE has been carrying out large operations. Senator Susan Collins announced on Thursday that ICE has ended its “enhanced” activities in Maine.“There are currently no ongoing or planned large-scale ICE operations here,” Ms. Collins said in an X post. “I have been urging Secretary Noem and others in the Administration to get ICE to reconsider its approach to immigration enforcement in the state.”Ms. Collins added that ICE and Customs and Border Patrol would continue normal operations in the state.

Trump Border Tsar Says That, With State Cooperation, Surge by ICE in Minnesota Could Wind Down

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