Minnesota Immigration Enforcement Surge to Wind Down as Federal Officials Cite “Great Success”

The intensified US immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota is set to conclude, President Donald Trump’s border tsar Tom Homan has announced, marking the end of a months-long federal surge that drew both praise and protest.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Homan said President Trump had approved his request to wrap up Operation Metro Surge. He added that he would remain in Minnesota “a little longer to oversee the drawdown, to ensure its success,” signalling a managed and phased reduction rather than an abrupt withdrawal.

According to Homan, the operation led to the detention of numerous undocumented immigrants who had committed violent crimes and were facing deportation. He described the initiative as a “great success,” pointing to what he said was a significant narrowing of enforcement targets in the state.

Officials reported that more than 4,000 undocumented immigrants — whom Homan referred to as “illegal aliens” — were arrested during the operation. Among them, he said, were individuals convicted of rape and other sexual offences. Homan emphasised that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has long maintained a presence in Minnesota and will continue to operate there even after the surge ends.

The enforcement campaign, however, was also met with widespread protests across the country. Public anger intensified following the deaths of two US citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who were killed by immigration officers during the crackdown. Their deaths became a flashpoint in the national debate over immigration enforcement tactics.

After the news conference, senior officials involved in the operation appeared before lawmakers on Capitol Hill to testify about the broader scope of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

Homan attributed the decision to scale back the operation to what he called an unprecedented level of cooperation between federal authorities and local law enforcement. He said officials in Minnesota had been able to “greatly reduce the number of targets” for immigration enforcement, reflecting closer coordination.

He noted that Minneapolis law enforcement had stepped up action against protesters he described as public safety threats, and that local jails had become more willing to notify ICE about the release dates of individuals the agency was targeting.

Following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, President Trump dispatched Homan to Minneapolis to take direct oversight of the surge, sidelining the operation’s previous leader, Greg Bovino. Last week, Homan announced the removal of 700 immigration agents from the state, reducing the federal presence to around 2,000 officers. He said efforts were under way to return staffing levels to what they were before the operation began in December.

On Thursday, Homan remarked that Minnesota had become “less of a sanctuary state” in recent weeks. He confirmed holding meetings with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, saying he urged them to “tone down the rhetoric” surrounding immigration enforcement.

Sanctuary cities and states typically enact laws limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Homan’s comments suggest that evolving relationships between state, local and federal officials played a central role in bringing Operation Metro Surge to a close.