Agents could be pulled back in Minneapolis if local officials cooperate, border tsar says
/ By Sierra Roberts
Agents could be pulled back in Minneapolis if local officials cooperate, border tsar says
/ By Sierra Roberts
The Trump administration signaled it may seek to "draw down" the federal presence in Minnesota if local officials cooperate, following the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens in the state.
At a press conference in Minneapolis, White House Border Tsar Tom Homan pledged to continue the immigration enforcement mission but said he wants “common sense cooperation that allows us to draw down on the number of people we have here.”
“We are not surrendering our mission at all. We’re just doing it smarter,” Homan said.
Homan added: “President Trump wants this fixed, and I’m going to fix it.”
How many federal personnel might leave the city, or when, was not made clear, prompting fresh questions about the extent of any pullback after the president said he was seeking to “de-escalate” in Minneapolis.
The deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti have sparked protests in Minneapolis, fueled national outcry, and prompted criticism from lawmakers.
The killings of Good and Pretti by agents enforcing Trump’s immigration crackdown this month have drawn demonstrations in Minneapolis, anger across the U.S., and bipartisan calls for the removal of some administration officials.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey have urged a full withdrawal of federal agents from the state’s capital region. The state has also asked a federal judge to halt “Operation Metro Surge,” which involves about 3,000 immigration, border patrol and other Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officers.
In the hours after Pretti was killed on Saturday, Walz spoke with the White House twice; since then, he and Frey, both Democrats, have had phone conversations with Trump.
Homan said Thursday that any adjustments to the operation would depend on how much state and local officials cooperate with federal authorities, adding that the administration disagrees with some of Frey and Walz’s demands, without specifying which.
The administration has, in turn, castigated local leaders, saying they should collaborate with federal officers and agents, and criticized Minneapolis for maintaining a “sanctuary city policy” that prevents city employees from enforcing immigration laws.
Overall, Homan offered few specifics about what changes the administration might entertain. He said the federal operation in Minneapolis would become more “targeted,” but did not elaborate.
Even as he promised to “fix” the situation in Minneapolis, Homan defended the administration’s immigration enforcement, arguing that tougher border security and focusing on undocumented immigrants for deportation have made the country safer.
In Trump’s first year back in office, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a component of DHS, carried out more than 480,000 deportations, according to an agency document obtained by the BBC’s US partner CBS News.
That figure surpasses the previous high of 410,000 recorded in 2012, when former President Barack Obama was in office. According to the document, DHS is currently holding more than 75,000 people in detention.
Over the past year, Trump has deployed federal agents and the National Guard to major U.S. cities to fulfill his campaign promise to crack down on illegal immigration. Those deployments have faced protests and legal challenges in Democrat-led cities including Portland, Los Angeles and Chicago.
After frustration over the handling of Good and Pretti’s deaths appeared to reach a boiling point—both in Minneapolis and on Capitol Hill—Trump sent Homan to the city this week to take charge of the operation, sidelining Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino, who had also led crackdowns in Chicago and other cities.
Whether Homan’s comments Thursday will satisfy lawmakers in Washington remains unclear.
Several House and Senate Republicans have called for investigations into the shootings of Good and Pretti.
Senate Democrats have threatened a partial government shutdown if a spending package includes new DHS funding.
On Thursday, seven Senate Republicans joined Democrats to block a procedural vote on the spending bill. Senate leaders and the White House then worked on a deal to remove DHS funding from the package, enabling the government to finance other agencies and giving both sides more time to negotiate a separate DHS spending plan.
“Republicans and Democrats in Congress have come together to get the vast majority of the Government funded until September, while at the same time providing an extension to the Department of Homeland Security,” Trump wrote on social media.
Senate Democrats want any DHS funding bill to limit the tactics ICE uses in the field, specifically urging agents to stop wearing masks and to cease searches and arrests without a judge’s warrant. In a memo released earlier this month, ICE authorized its agents to conduct warrantless searches.
“This is a moment of truth,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a floor speech Thursday. “What ICE is doing, outside the law, is state-sanctioned thuggery and it must stop.”
Trump said during a cabinet meeting on Thursday that the White House was working with Democrats to avoid a shutdown.
Speaking at a conference for mayors in Washington on Thursday, Frey continued to press for an end to the federal operation in his city. He also visited Capitol Hill.
Frey said there were 3,000 to 4,000 federal forces in Minneapolis, vastly outnumbering the city’s roughly 600 local police officers. Asked Thursday for an updated figure, Homan did not confirm how many federal forces were present.
“People have been indiscriminately pulled off the street,” Frey said. “American citizens have been yanked away from their homes after that, solely because they look like they are from Mexico or Ecuador or Somalia.”
He added: “That’s not how we operate in America.”
At a press conference in Minneapolis, White House Border Tsar Tom Homan pledged to continue the immigration enforcement mission but said he wants “common sense cooperation that allows us to draw down on the number of people we have here.”
“We are not surrendering our mission at all. We’re just doing it smarter,” Homan said.
Homan added: “President Trump wants this fixed, and I’m going to fix it.”
How many federal personnel might leave the city, or when, was not made clear, prompting fresh questions about the extent of any pullback after the president said he was seeking to “de-escalate” in Minneapolis.
The deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti have sparked protests in Minneapolis, fueled national outcry, and prompted criticism from lawmakers.
The killings of Good and Pretti by agents enforcing Trump’s immigration crackdown this month have drawn demonstrations in Minneapolis, anger across the U.S., and bipartisan calls for the removal of some administration officials.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey have urged a full withdrawal of federal agents from the state’s capital region. The state has also asked a federal judge to halt “Operation Metro Surge,” which involves about 3,000 immigration, border patrol and other Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officers.
In the hours after Pretti was killed on Saturday, Walz spoke with the White House twice; since then, he and Frey, both Democrats, have had phone conversations with Trump.
Homan said Thursday that any adjustments to the operation would depend on how much state and local officials cooperate with federal authorities, adding that the administration disagrees with some of Frey and Walz’s demands, without specifying which.
The administration has, in turn, castigated local leaders, saying they should collaborate with federal officers and agents, and criticized Minneapolis for maintaining a “sanctuary city policy” that prevents city employees from enforcing immigration laws.
Overall, Homan offered few specifics about what changes the administration might entertain. He said the federal operation in Minneapolis would become more “targeted,” but did not elaborate.
Even as he promised to “fix” the situation in Minneapolis, Homan defended the administration’s immigration enforcement, arguing that tougher border security and focusing on undocumented immigrants for deportation have made the country safer.
In Trump’s first year back in office, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a component of DHS, carried out more than 480,000 deportations, according to an agency document obtained by the BBC’s US partner CBS News.
That figure surpasses the previous high of 410,000 recorded in 2012, when former President Barack Obama was in office. According to the document, DHS is currently holding more than 75,000 people in detention.
Over the past year, Trump has deployed federal agents and the National Guard to major U.S. cities to fulfill his campaign promise to crack down on illegal immigration. Those deployments have faced protests and legal challenges in Democrat-led cities including Portland, Los Angeles and Chicago.
After frustration over the handling of Good and Pretti’s deaths appeared to reach a boiling point—both in Minneapolis and on Capitol Hill—Trump sent Homan to the city this week to take charge of the operation, sidelining Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino, who had also led crackdowns in Chicago and other cities.
Whether Homan’s comments Thursday will satisfy lawmakers in Washington remains unclear.
Several House and Senate Republicans have called for investigations into the shootings of Good and Pretti.
Senate Democrats have threatened a partial government shutdown if a spending package includes new DHS funding.
On Thursday, seven Senate Republicans joined Democrats to block a procedural vote on the spending bill. Senate leaders and the White House then worked on a deal to remove DHS funding from the package, enabling the government to finance other agencies and giving both sides more time to negotiate a separate DHS spending plan.
“Republicans and Democrats in Congress have come together to get the vast majority of the Government funded until September, while at the same time providing an extension to the Department of Homeland Security,” Trump wrote on social media.
Senate Democrats want any DHS funding bill to limit the tactics ICE uses in the field, specifically urging agents to stop wearing masks and to cease searches and arrests without a judge’s warrant. In a memo released earlier this month, ICE authorized its agents to conduct warrantless searches.
“This is a moment of truth,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a floor speech Thursday. “What ICE is doing, outside the law, is state-sanctioned thuggery and it must stop.”
Trump said during a cabinet meeting on Thursday that the White House was working with Democrats to avoid a shutdown.
Speaking at a conference for mayors in Washington on Thursday, Frey continued to press for an end to the federal operation in his city. He also visited Capitol Hill.
Frey said there were 3,000 to 4,000 federal forces in Minneapolis, vastly outnumbering the city’s roughly 600 local police officers. Asked Thursday for an updated figure, Homan did not confirm how many federal forces were present.
“People have been indiscriminately pulled off the street,” Frey said. “American citizens have been yanked away from their homes after that, solely because they look like they are from Mexico or Ecuador or Somalia.”
He added: “That’s not how we operate in America.”