U.S. border tsar Tom Homan, newly appointed to oversee President Donald Trump's immigration policies in Minneapolis, said agents would concentrate on targeted, strategic enforcement following weeks of criticism over heavy-handed tactics.
He said the 3,000 agents deployed to the area may be reduced after meetings with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and other officials.
According to Homan, coordination had improved across agencies, prompting expectations of operational changes.
A directive reviewed by Reuters instructs Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to avoid unnecessary contact with protesters described in the memo as agitators.
It also limits enforcement to immigrants with criminal charges or convictions. The shift replaces earlier street checks that required people to produce proof of legal U.S. residence on demand.
Homan said teams would focus on individuals considered threats to public safety or national security but stressed that the wider enforcement mission remained.
His comments contrasted with remarks from President Trump, who warned on his Truth Social platform that Mayor Frey was "playing with fire" by refusing to involve city authorities in immigration enforcement roles.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said 16 people were arrested on Wednesday (28 January) for allegedly assaulting or obstructing federal agents.
In a separate development, a federal judge in Minneapolis said ICE had ignored dozens of court orders during the operation.
Judge Patrick Schiltz cited 96 violations in 74 cases and said the pattern raised serious rule-of-law questions.
Observers tracking ICE activity told Reuters that raids slowed on Tuesday before resuming on Wednesday in a more focused form.
Trump had earlier said he wanted to reduce tensions and replaced Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino with Homan after sharp criticism of earlier tactics.
The state of Minnesota has been unsettled since the launch of Operation Metro Surge and the fatal shootings of Renee Good on 7 January and intensive care nurse Alex Pretti days later.
Officials initially described both as domestic terrorists, claims widely challenged after videos of the shootings emerged.
Footage verified by Reuters shows Pretti holding only a phone when agents forced him to the ground.
An agent removed a handgun from his waist moments before another officer shot him in the back while he was restrained. Pretti had a legal permit to carry the firearm.
A major bridge across the Dnipro river in Kyiv was hit in a Russian air attack on Saturday, the city's mayor, Vitali Klitschko said, as strikes...
Hammam al-Hammami, the Flydubai co-pilot accused of stabbing the captain of an Israel-bound flight on ...
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev warned against interference from outside actors in remarks at the 8th Congress of the New Azerbaijan Part...
Yemen's air force carried out 20 strikes on Houthi targets earlier on Friday, Brigadier General Majid Abdullah Al-Nuzaili, Spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces, said. Meanwhile, the Iran-backed Houthis denied targeting a power plant supplying energy to a mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia.
Azerbaijan and Armenia will sign a final peace agreement once Armenia amends its constitution to remove territorial claims against Azerbaijan, Hikmat Hajiyev, Assistant to Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, has said.
Ukraine is working to resolve a diplomatic dispute with South Korea after Kyiv publicly disclosed the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to Seoul, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Thursday, 1 October.
Hammam al-Hammami, the Flydubai co-pilot accused of stabbing the captain of an Israel-bound flight on Wednesday in a suspected terrorist attack, was banned from flying by Oman over concerns about his radical views, U.S. media reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
British counter-terrorism police have arrested a 27-year-old dual UK-Iranian national as part of an investigation into a suspected plot involving RAF Fairford, an airbase used by U.S. forces for operations against Iran.
A major bridge across the Dnipro river in Kyiv was hit in a Russian air attack on Saturday, the city's mayor, Vitali Klitschko said, as strikes on the capital's infrastructure continue.
Hammam al-Hammami, the Flydubai co-pilot accused of stabbing the captain of an Israel-bound flight on Wednesday in a suspected terrorist attack, was banned from flying by Oman over concerns about his radical views, U.S. media reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
A U.S. federal appeals court has temporarily halted Minnesota’s ban on AI-generated fake nude images after Elon Musk’s xAI challenged the law as unconstitutional.
Two Iranian nationals have been charged in Britain with preparing a suspected terrorist attack targeting the Jewish community in northern England, police said on Friday (2 October).
The United States suspended consular services at its embassy and consulates in Brazil on Friday over unspecified security concerns, prompting Australia to close its embassy in Brasília two days before the country's presidential election.
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