The Trump administration is concluding Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota following weeks of widespread protests over aggressive immigration enforcement in the region. Border Czar Tom Homan announced the move Thursday, saying immigration efforts have yielded the results he and the administration hoped for.
“I have proposed, and President Trump has concurred, that this search operation conclude,” Homan said. “We’ve had great success with this operation, and we’re leaving Minneapolis safer.”
The news comes just days after Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said he expected the ongoing operation to end soon.
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Pulling out of Minneapolis
Homan said “a significant drawdown” will begin this week and will continue into next week. A small federal footprint will remain in the city to support the withdrawal and transition leadership back to local agencies.
During Thursday’s press conference, he said, “Overall, we made a lot of progress through extensive engagement.” He added that he’s been working with state officials and Walz to keep the community safe and develop further plans.
“I’m very pleased to report that this surge operation and our work here with state and local officials to improve coordination and achieve mutual goals, as well as our efforts to address issues of a concern here on the ground have yielded the successful results we have came, came here for,” Homan said.
Homan also addressed rumors regarding the Minnesota operation, saying there have been no arrests in hospitals, churches or elementary schools.
At its peak, around 3,000 immigration officers were in Minneapolis, but the administration pulled around 700 from the city last week.
Immigration efforts in the US
Despite the operation in Minneapolis ending, Homan said immigration efforts will continue nationwide.
“That’s what American people voted for,” Homan said. “But we’re prioritizing those who are the biggest threat to our community, the rapists, the murders, the child molesters. That’s the right thing to do.”
He added that Trump promised mass deportations and “that’s what this country is going to get.”
“Nothing changed, other than we make sure they’re targeted and make sure we know who we’re going for, what their immigration record was, their criminal history,” Homan said.
Homan in Minneapolis
Homan has been in Minnesota for weeks after Trump ordered a leadership shakeup of the Minnesota immigration effort, putting the border czar in charge.
Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino left Minneapolis after making unsubstantiated claims that Alex Pretti, the man ICE agents shot and killed last month, intended to “massacre” immigration agents.
Homan replaced Bovino as the leading face of the efforts in Minnesota, saying, “President Trump wants this fixed, and I’m going to fix it.”
On Thursday, he made a similar statement, saying, “President Trump didn’t send me here because operations were being run and conducted perfectly. I came here to identify issues and implement solutions to improve our mission execution.”
Since his arrival, immigration agents received new guidance instructing them to avoid engaging with “agitators,” and 700 troops were pulled from the state.
In total, Homan said the operation resulted in more than 4,000 arrests, but he did not provide a specific breakdown of how many of those arrests were targeted.
