Tom Homan, the US border security chief, says that the immigration crackdown in Minnesota that led to mass detentions, protests and two deaths is coming to an end.
“As a result of our efforts here, Minnesota is now less of a sanctuary state for criminals,” Homan said at a news conference on Thursday.
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“I have proposed, and President [Donald] Trump has concurred, that this surge operation conclude.”
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) launched Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota on December 1 as Trump frequently rebuked the state and its seizable Somali community.
Homan said ICE operations would continue as they did before the operation began.
“Through targeted enforcement operations based on reasonable suspicion, and prioritising safety and security, ICE will continue to identify, arrest, and remove illegal aliens who pose a risk to public safety, as we’ve done for years,” he said.
Federal authorities say the sweeps focused on the Minneapolis-St Paul metro area have led to the arrest of more than 4,000 people. While the Trump administration has called those arrested “dangerous criminal illegal aliens”, many people with no criminal records, including children and US citizens, have also been detained.
Minnesota Tim Walz said on Thursday he was “cautiously optimistic” after the Trump administration’s announcement of drawing down the immigration crackdown in his state.
“They left us with deep damage, generational trauma,” Walz told reporters. “They left us with economic ruin in some cases.”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey also welcomed the announcement, likening the immigration operation to military occupation.
“They thought they could break us, but a love for our neighbours and a resolve to endure can outlast an occupation,” Frey wrote on X “These patriots of Minneapolis are showing that it’s not just about resistance — standing with our neighbours is deeply American.”
Reporting from the White House, Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher said the operation in Minnesota proved to be a public relations “disaster” for Trump, citing opinion polls showing public opposition to ICE’s tactics.
“It was bad publicity for Donald Trump, and he was getting a great deal of criticism, not just from Democrats, not just from people in the state, but from Republicans around the country, as well – that this was not the image that they wanted to portray,” Fisher said.
Holman’s announcement came as US legislators were holding hearings questioning government officials over the immigration crackdown in Minnesota, which saw mass protests and the killing of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal agents.
Senators on Thursday went through a frame-by-frame presentation of the video of the shooting of Pretti, arguing that he did not pose a danger to the officer and that immigration agents failed to de-escalate the situation.
Some top Trump immigration officials had called Pretti a “terrorist” after the incident, claiming that he planned to shoot federal officers.
“It’s terrible police work,” Republican Senator Rand Paul said of the incident.
“There has to ultimately be repercussions. I think he’s retreating at every moment. He’s trying to get away, and he’s being sprayed in the face. I don’t think that’s de-escalatory.”
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