White House border czar Tom Homan said on Feb. 4 that the Trump administration will immediately draw down 700 immigration agents from Minnesota.
The reduction was made possible because of the "unprecedented cooperation" with local counties on honoring Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainers on illegal immigrant prisoners, Homan said at a press conference in Minneapolis. ICE detainers ask jails to notify federal authorities before an illegal immigrant prisoner is to be released, so federal agents can detain them for removal.
"This is smarter enforcement, not less," Homan said.
The move comes amid heightened scrutiny of federal immigration operations after the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
Homan said the administration is not drawing down on personnel providing security for the officers.
The Trump administration's goal is to end the surge of federal agents in the city, Homan said. But that will depend on continued cooperation with local authorities and a decrease in attacks and hateful rhetoric against ICE and border patrol agents.
In Minneapolis, federal law enforcement has arrested 14 people who had homicide convictions, 87 people with sex-related offenses, 28 gang members, and 139 people who had assault convictions, he said.
The border czar called on people to stop impeding law enforcement operations. -- 📺 Watch NTD News 24/7 on cable, broadcast, and streaming: https://www.ntd.com/watch
700 federal agents are leaving Minnesota after Borders R Tom Homan cites more
cooperation from county jails and reports of anti ice blockades in the
Minneapolis area sparked concern from local police unions, which say that
officers who try to remove the blockades are being met with hostility.
Entity correspondent Jason Blair has more again. I'm not saying we agree on
everything, but I think we all already accomplished great things. Minnesota. I
am optimistic we will achieve even more. White House Borders R Tom Homan
says that due to a quote unprecedented amount of county jails that are now
telling ice when a criminal illegal alien is being released that he is
pulling back 700 federal agents from the state. This is efficient, requires
only one or two officers to assume custody of criminal alien target rather
than eight or 10 officers going in the community. Homan adds that this also
frees up local law enforcement to deal with other issues rather than
potentially deal with another public safety threat being released on the
street. More officers taking custody of criminal aliens directly from the jails
means less offers on the street doing criminal operations. Minnesota Governor
Tim Walz responded to the withdrawal of 700 agents saying today's announcement
is a step in the right direction, but we need a faster and larger drawdown of
forces and state led investigations into the killings of Alex Pretty and
Renee Good. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Fry also calls it a step in the right
direction, but says the operation needs to end immediately. Homan says that his
goal is to end the surge of agents in Minnesota. However, he explained that it
can't be done while agents are still being met with violence and being doxxed.
But that is largely contingent upon the end of the illegal and threatening
activities against ice. So we will not draw down on personnel providing
security and responding to hostile incidents until we see a change. One
issue being reported in the Minneapolis ST Paul area are the anti ice license
plate checkpoints that activists are setting up on the streets. Media reports
show activists stopping traffic running license plates through databases and
not allowing drivers to pass who they think are ice. The local police unions
have raised concern over the practice. The Police Officers Federation of
Minneapolis says peaceful protest is a constitutional right. Impersonating law
enforcement conducting stop and frisk activities or physically blocking public
roadways is not. The ST Paul Police Federation says when officers move in
and request the illegal blockades be removed, they are not met with
cooperation but open hostility. Homan says the blockades are only harming the
You're not gonna stop ice. You're not gonna stop Border Patrol. The only
thing you're doing is irritating your community and want to go get groceries
or pick the Children up or whatever. Homan also gave an update on illegal
immigrant arrests. We've arrested 14 people who had homicide convictions,
139 assault convictions, 87 sex offenses, 28 gang members have been
arrested. Just to name a few. Jason Blair, NTD News.
