President Trump’s border enforcement chief pressed Minnesota’s Democratic leadership to expand cooperation with federal authorities during high-level meetings in Minneapolis amid ongoing unrest.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Tom Homan, President Donald Trump’s lead official on deportations and border security, traveled to Minneapolis this week to press Minnesota’s Democratic leaders to increase cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, including transferring more illegal aliens from state prisons and local jails into federal custody.
Homan met Tuesday with Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, two Democrats who have openly opposed the Trump administration’s immigration operations in the city, according to reporting by The Wall Street Journal citing people familiar with the discussions. Homan has assumed a central role in the administration’s immigration enforcement and fraud investigations as federal operations intensify in the Democratic-run city.
While the Journal did not detail every demand raised during the meetings, President Trump publicly outlined four priorities in a Sunday Truth Social post. Those demands included requiring state and local authorities to turn illegal aliens over to federal custody, directing local police to assist federal agents in locating and detaining illegal aliens wanted for crimes, and partnering with federal agencies to “protect American Citizens in the rapid removal of all Criminal Illegal Aliens in our Country.”
Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth, a Republican running for governor, described Homan’s visit as a chance to reset relations between federal and local officials. “Tom Homan’s arrival in Minnesota is an opportunity for a reset through the collaboration that President Trump has been pushing for between the federal government and state/local law enforcement,” Demuth wrote in a post on X.
Despite the meetings, there were no immediate signs of agreement on expanding cooperation, according to the Journal. Frey said he told Homan that Minneapolis would not enforce federal immigration laws, maintaining the city’s longstanding position. A person who attended one of the meetings told the Journal that Homan presented himself as a law enforcement official seeking to reduce street-level chaos rather than escalate tensions, though he made no specific commitments.
“We all agree that we need to support our law enforcement officers and get criminals off the streets,” Homan wrote Tuesday in a message on X. “While we don’t agree on everything, these meetings were a productive starting point, and I look forward to more conversations with key stakeholders in the days ahead. President Trump has been clear: He wants American cities to be safe and secure for law-abiding residents — and they will be.”
Minnesota has already been transferring illegal aliens who complete sentences for serious crimes to federal authorities, a practice Immigration and Customs Enforcement has highlighted in daily briefings, according to the Journal. The Trump administration, however, is seeking access to a broader group, including illegal aliens held in local and state jails who have not yet been tried.
Walz has rejected the administration’s characterization of the issue. “They’re taking credit for people that we’ve had in jail for a long time,” he told reporters Sunday. “We always hand them over.”
Homan also met briefly with Frey and Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara. Frey’s office described the discussion as productive and said the mayor urged that Operation Metro Surge be ended as soon as possible. O’Hara told the Journal that ICE conducted several raids Monday, though Tuesday was comparatively quieter.
“Just a half-hour ago, there were people blowing whistles right outside the window here,” O’Hara said, noting the proximity of City Hall to the jail. “The jail is right across the street, so maybe they just grabbed somebody out of the jail.”
The meetings occurred as federal authorities continued to respond to unrest tied to immigration enforcement. On Wednesday, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the arrests of 16 individuals connected to anti-ICE protests in Minneapolis, underscoring the heightened tensions surrounding the administration’s enforcement push.
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