Homan: ICE, CBP Are Working on a ‘Drawdown Plan’ in Minneapolis/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ Trump’s border czar Tom Homan says a reduction in immigration enforcement officers in Minnesota depends on state and local cooperation. His remarks follow rising tensions after a protester was killed by a federal officer. Homan emphasized targeted operations and warned against interfering with ICE activity.
Trump’s Border Strategy in Minnesota Quick Looks
- Tom Homan, Trump’s immigration chief, suggests drawdown possible with local cooperation
- Comments follow fatal shooting of protester by a federal immigration officer
- Homan urges jails to cooperate with ICE to reduce street enforcement
- Advocates “targeted operations” focused on immigrants with criminal records
- Warns of “zero tolerance” for protester interference with federal officers
- Calls Minneapolis protestors “agitators” obstructing law enforcement
- Says street enforcement rises when jails fail to transfer detainees
- Refuses to commit to a timeline for leaving Minnesota
- Says he’s meeting with local officials to build consensus
- Homan pledges to stay “until the problem’s gone”
Deep Look: Trump Border Chief Ties ICE Reduction in Minnesota to State Cooperation
‘MINNEAPOLIS — President Donald Trump’s border czar Tom Homan suggested Thursday that the number of immigration enforcement officers operating in Minnesota could be reduced — but only if state and local officials begin cooperating more closely with federal agents.
Speaking publicly for the first time since the fatal shooting of a protester by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis last Saturday, Homan made clear that any easing of the ICE presence will be conditional.
“There will be fewer agents on the streets when jails start turning over the public safety threats we’re after,” Homan said during a press conference. “Give us access to illegal aliens in the safety and security of a jail.”
He argued that cooperation from local law enforcement and jail systems — including notifying Immigration and Customs Enforcement when undocumented individuals are in custody — would reduce the need for more visible and aggressive street operations.
If federal agents don’t act with professionalism “they’ll be dealt with,” border czar says
White House border czar Tom Homan speaks at a news conference in Minneapolis on Thursday.
Federal officers who don’t act with professionalism will be “dealt with, like any other federal agency,” White House border czar Tom Homan said while highlighting the challenging environment ICE officers and CBP agents are working in amid immigration enforcement efforts in Minnesota.
“We have standards of conduct,” Homan said.
“These men and women, that carry that badge and gun, are American patriots. They put their selves on the line for this nation every day,” he added. “God bless every one of them.”
Homan says Trump doesn’t want anyone to die during immigration operations
White House border czar Tom Homan attends a press conference in Minneapolis on Thursday.
White House border czar Tom Homan said he that neither he nor President Donald Trump wants anyone to die.
“The President, one of the words he said to me when I came up here, he doesn’t want to see anybody die… I don’t want to see anybody die, even the people we’re looking for. I don’t want to see anybody die,” Homan said.
Homan acknowleges “certain improvements could and should be made”
President Trump’s border czar Tom Homan acknowledged that federal immigration operations have not been “perfect.”
“President Trump and I, along with others in administration, have recognized that certain improvements could and should be made. That’s exactly what I’m doing here,” Homan said Thursday at a press conference in Minneapolis.
“In meetings I’ve had with federal law enforcement managers, including ICE and CBP and other federal partners, as well as state and local officials, I have conveyed the president’s expectations with regard to federal immigration enforcement efforts.”
Homan, who has a long history in immigration enforcement and previously served as a Border Patrol agent, said he didn’t come to Minnesota looking photo ops or headlines.
“I come here looking for solutions. I do not want to hear that everything’s been done here has been perfect. Nothing’s ever perfect.”
He also stressed how operations on the ground in Minneapolis will be targeted so “when we hit the streets, we know exactly who we’re looking for.”
“What we’ve been working on is making this operation safer, more efficient, by the book,” Homan said. “The mission is going to improve because of the changes we’re making internally.”
Homan acknowledges right to protest — a departure from other officials who called protesters “agitators” or “rioters”
White House border czar Tom Homan on Thursday acknowledged that Americans have a right to protest federal immigration enforcement.
“You have your First Amendment rights — I support that,” Homan said during a press conference in Minneapolis today. “You have the right to protest. I’m just asking to keep it peaceful.”
His comments represent a notable departure from how other top officials had referred to protesters. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino had repeatedly called those protesting federal immigration operations in the city “agitators,” “rioters,” or “insurrectionists.”
Homan added that threatening, impeding or assaulting law enforcement is “never okay” and there will be “zero tolerance” for doing so.
“I didn’t come to Minnesota for photo ops,” border czar says
White House border czar Tom Homan speaks during a news conference in Minneapolis on Thursday.
White House border czar Tom Homan told reporters he came to Minnesota at President Donald Trump’s request to improve the situation on the ground.
“I didn’t come to Minnesota for photo ops or headlines,” Homan said. “I came here to seek solutions, and that’s we’re going to do.”
Homan said he’s had constructive conversations with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.
“One thing we did agree on … was that community safety is paramount,” Homan said.
Protest Fallout and “Zero Tolerance” Policy
The remarks come amid widespread public unrest following the latest fatal encounter involving federal immigration agents. Protesters have taken to the streets of Minneapolis in growing numbers, condemning what they call excessive force and militarized enforcement in their communities.
Homan responded to those protests with a firm warning: “I have zero tolerance for anyone who assaults or impedes my officers,” he said, calling demonstrators “agitators” and stressing that such actions would not deter ICE’s mission.
Though he acknowledged that operations “haven’t been perfect,” he also made clear that the administration does not plan to abandon its enforcement goals.
“We’re not surrendering this mission,” Homan said.
“I’m staying ’til the problem’s gone,” Homan says of deployment to Minnesota
White House border czar Tom Homan speaks at a press conference in Minneapolis on Thursday.
Starting his press conference in Minneapolis, border czar Tom Homan said he would be “staying ‘til the problem’s gone.”
Homan was sent to Minnesota on Monday to take the reins on the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota.
“We’ve made a lot of progress, a lot of progress in the last three days,” he told reporters.
Emphasis on Targeted Operations
In an apparent shift toward damage control, Homan stressed that ICE will prioritize “targeted strategic enforcement operations” in the state. These efforts, he said, will focus on individuals who pose public safety threats, particularly those with prior criminal records.
‘Such “targeted operations” have long been part of ICE’s enforcement toolkit, but critics argue that even those efforts disproportionately affect peaceful immigrant communities and often involve collateral arrests.
Still, Homan insisted that collaboration with local authorities — particularly jails — would reduce both costs and risks
“It’s safer for officers and better for the community when enforcement starts in jail, not in neighborhoods,” he said.
No Timeline for Drawdown
When asked how long he planned to remain in Minnesota, Homan declined to give specifics.
“I’m staying until the problem’s gone,” he said. He added that he’s held meetings with elected officials and local law enforcement leaders across the state in an effort to build consensus.
While he claimed some progress had been made, it remains unclear whether cooperation from local jurisdictions will materialize, especially given the state’s political opposition to Trump’s broader immigration agenda.
The controversy in Minnesota is part of a larger national clash over immigration enforcement during Trump’s second term, where a sharp expansion of federal authority has drawn both legal challenges and mass protests.
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