Federal agents detain a protester in Minneapolis, Minnesota on February 3, 2026. Photo: AFP / Charly Triballeau
President Donald Trump's administration on Wednesday (US time) announced the removal of 700 immigration officers from Minnesota after weeks of aggressive and sometimes violent operations and the fatal shooting of two protesters that has sparked outrage across the United States.
But Tom Homan, a senior administration official, said that the contentious deployment in Minneapolis would go on, noting that some 2000 immigration officers would remain after the drawdown.
The mayor of Minneapolis and the governor of Minnesota, both Democrats, described the announcement as "a step in the right direction", but called for the federal government to move faster in winding down its sweeping immigration operation in the state.
Homan, who was sent as a replacement to oversee the crackdown in Minneapolis as anger over the fatal shootings and the government's false accounts of them grew, said the reduction would take effect immediately. He cited increased cooperation with local authorities.
Explaining the decision, Homan said there were now "more officers taking custody of criminal aliens directly from the jails" rather than detaining them on the streets, efforts that required fewer personnel.
Before the launch of sweeping immigration operations, there were only 150 federal immigration officers in the state.
Homan also stressed he would not be leaving Minneapolis - which has become a major flashpoint in Trump's overall immigration policy - "until we get it all done".
Senior US administration official Tom Homan is now overseeing the crackdown on illegal immigration in Minneapolis. Photo: AFP/ANDREW HARNIK
'Bloodshed'
"President Trump fully intends to achieve mass deportations during this administration, and immigration enforcement actions will continue every day throughout this country," Homan said.
He also took aim at "extreme rhetoric" against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel, saying: "I said back in March of this year, if the hateful rhetoric didn't stop, I was afraid there would be bloodshed, and there has been."
Minneapolis mayor Jacob Fry welcomed the reduction in federal personnel but said in a post on X that the US immigration operation in Minneapolis, dubbed Metro Surge, must end "immediately."
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz took a similar stance, calling for a "faster and larger drawdown of forces" and state-led investigations into the two deadly shootings in Minneapolis.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz Photo: Jim WATSON / AFP
Federal agents shot and killed unarmed Renee Good, a 37-year-old Minneapolis woman, as she attempted to drive away from an ICE enforcement operation last month, triggering protests and criticism from civil rights groups and local officials.
Another Minneapolis resident, intensive care nurse Alex Pretti, also 37, was beaten and shot dead by federal agents as he lay pinned to the ground in an incident two weeks later.
Both victims were US citizens. The killings drew international attention and condemnation over the government's false accounts of what happened, intensifying public concern about the conduct of federal immigration operations.
Following outcry over the shootings, Trump withdrew combative Customs and Border Protection commander Gregory Bovino and replaced him with the more policy-focused Homan, who pledged to draw down the operation with conditions.
- AFP
