ICE in Minnesota: Homan says feds will withdraw 700 officers from MN effective immediately

ICE surge in MN: 700 officers leaving MN

Border Czar Tom Homan announced on Wednesday that the White House will pull out 700 federal officers from the ICE surge in Minnesota, bringing the officer count down to about 2,000 officers.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Citing "unprecedented" cooperation, Border Czar Tom Homan says the White House will withdraw 700 federal officers from Minnesota effective immediately.

Cooperating with ICE

What we know:

Homan announced Wednesday morning that 700 federal officers will leave Minnesota effective immediately. Homan says the officers leaving the state will be a mix of ICE, Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection agents.

Homan's news conference comes the day after news broke about a potential legal agreement that would allow individual counties in Minnesota to honor ICE detainers without judicial warrants and hold inmates for up to 48 additional hours. Homan previously said cooperation with state and local officials would be required prior to a drawdown of immigration officials in Minnesota.

Speaking Wednesday morning, Homan said negotiations with local authorities have gone well in recent days. "We have made significant progress under the direction of President Trump, working with state and local officials here in Minnesota, and I expect that to increase in the coming weeks. We continue to have discussions. I'll have discussions this afternoon. We currently have an unprecedented number of counties communicating with us now and allowing Ice to take custody of illegal aliens before they hit the streets.

By the numbers:

Homan says that the recent drawdown will put the federal headcount in the Twin Cities at around 2,000 officers. Prior to Operation Metro Surge, there were about 150 federal officers.

But, Homan indicated there would still be an elevated headcount in Minnesota for some time due to a specialized detail to target fraud.

Reaction to drawdown

Big picture view:

In a statement, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt lauded Homan's efforts in Minnesota: "Thanks to Tom Homan’s tireless work, an unprecedented number of counties in Minnesota have agreed to coordinate with ICE to transfer custody of criminal aliens upon their release. This is one of the conditions President Trump set for a draw down. These commitments have been made by local officials, and will continue to be monitored for compliance." 

The other side:

In response to Homan's announcement, Gov. Walz wrote: "Operation Metro Surge is not making Minnesota safer. Today's announcement is a step in the right direction, but we need a faster and larger drawdown of forces, state-led investigations into the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, and an end to this campaign of retribution."

In his own statement, Mayor Jacob Frey said: "The drawdown and body-worn cameras are a step in the right direction, but 2,000 ICE officers still here is not de-escalation. My message to the White House has been consistent – Operation Metro Surge has been catastrophic for our residents and businesses. It needs to end immediately."  

What's next:

Homan says his goal is to end the surge entirely but, as he's stated previously, that's dependent on cooperation from local authorities. He also made it clear that he leave federal officers in danger.

"I will not let our officers be put at risk, so we will not draw down on personnel providing security and responding to hostile incidents," said Homan. "Until we see a change and what's happening with the lawlessness of repeating and interfering and assaulting of ICE and Border Patrol officers."

To further those ends, Homan called on local leaders to calm tensions with protest groups that oppose ICE.