U.S. border chief Tom Homan said on Thursday (12 February) a federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota will end after months of raids that led to more than 4,000 arrests, mass protests and two fatal shootings.
The operation, launched by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on 1 December in the Minneapolis-St Paul area, is now being wound down with President Donald Trump’s approval.
Speaking at a news conference, Homan said he had proposed concluding what authorities called “Operation Metro Surge,” adding that Trump had agreed. He said the drawdown of federal officers began this week and would continue into next week, though he plans to remain in Minnesota to oversee the process.
Federal officials say the sweeps targeted what they described as “dangerous criminal illegal aliens.”
However, critics argue that individuals without criminal records, including children and U.S. citizens, were also detained during the operation.
Homan said the surge had made Minnesota “less of a sanctuary state for criminals” and insisted that Minneapolis was now safer. Last week he announced that 700 federal officers would leave the state immediately but more than 2,000 personnel remained deployed.
He previously cited increased co-operation with local jails holding deportable inmates as a reason for scaling back the federal presence.
Homan assumed direct oversight of the operation in late January.
Democratic Governor Tim Walz said he expected the operation to conclude within “days, not weeks and months,” following conversations with Homan and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey also described a “positive meeting” with Homan to discuss further reductions.
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests for comment on Walz’s remarks.
Federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota drew widespread criticism after two U.S. citizens were fatally shot by federal agents during Operation Metro Surge, intensifying political and legal backlash.
On 7 January, an ICE agent shot and killed Renée Good, 37, during a raid in Minneapolis - a case that sparked protests and calls for accountability amid conflicting accounts of the incident and video evidence circulating online.
Days later, ICU nurse Alex Pretti, also 37, was shot dead by federal agents in Minneapolis, leading to further outrage and a homicide declaration by the local medical examiner.
The deaths prompted protests, lawsuits by state and city officials challenging the legality of the federal operation, and debates over use of force and transparency, including calls for civil rights investigations into the shootings.
U.S. border chief Tom Homan said on Thursday (12 February) a federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota will end after months of raids that led to mor...
Russia’s car market is continuing to receive tens of thousands of foreign-brand vehicles via China despite sanctions imposed after Moscow’s full-s...
Norwegian police searched the homes of former prime minister Thorbjørn Jagland on Thursday (12 February) as part of an ongoing investigation into all...
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has chosen his teenage daughter as his successor, South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers on Thursday....
Belgian police searched multiple European Commission offices in Brussels on Thursday as part of an investigation into the 2024 sale of EU-owned buildi...
Russia’s car market is continuing to receive tens of thousands of foreign-brand vehicles via China despite sanctions imposed after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, a journalistic investigation has found.
Norwegian police searched the homes of former prime minister Thorbjørn Jagland on Thursday (12 February) as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged ties between prominent Norwegians and the late U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, authorities and media reports said.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has chosen his teenage daughter as his successor, South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers on Thursday.
Belgian police searched multiple European Commission offices in Brussels on Thursday as part of an investigation into the 2024 sale of EU-owned buildings to the Belgian state.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis arrived in Ankara on Wednesday, where Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held an official welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Palace, marking the start of high-level talks between the two NATO allies.
A senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader said on Tuesday that negotiations with the United States must remain focused on the nuclear issue and be grounded in realism, as Washington and Tehran prepare to resume talks mediated by Oman.
James Van Der Beek, who rose to fame as Dawson Leery in the hit teen drama Dawson’s Creek, has died aged 48 following a battle with stage 3 colorectal cancer.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said a bridge project linking Canada’s Ontario province with the U.S. state of Michigan would contribute to cooperation between the two countries.
The suspect in a deadly school shooting in western Canada was an 18-year-old woman who allegedly killed her mother and stepbrother before attacking her former school. Investigators have not provided a motive for what is being described as one of the worst mass killings in Canada.
Norwegian police searched the homes of former prime minister Thorbjørn Jagland on Thursday (12 February) as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged ties between prominent Norwegians and the late U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, authorities and media reports said.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has chosen his teenage daughter as his successor, South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers on Thursday.
Belgian police searched multiple European Commission offices in Brussels on Thursday as part of an investigation into the 2024 sale of EU-owned buildings to the Belgian state.
Polls have close in Bangladesh's first general election since the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government, marking a pivotal moment in the country’s political transition. Turnout reached 47.91% by early afternoon, according to partial data from election authorities.
Stalled U.S.–Iran talks and mounting regional tensions are exposing a growing strategic rift between Washington and Tel Aviv over how to confront Tehran, political analyst James M. Dorsey says, exposing stark differences in approach at a critical moment.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment