Border czar Tom Homan speaks during a news conference about ongoing immigration enforcement operations on January 29, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Scott Olson | Getty Images
The Trump administration will draw down 700 federal law enforcement officers from Minnesota “effective immediately,” border czar Tom Homan said Wednesday.
After that partial withdrawal, around 2,000 federal agents will remain in the state — a roughly 25% reduction — with most concentrated in the Twin Cities area encompassing Minneapolis and St. Paul, Homan said at a press conference.
Homan announced the pullback after touting “unprecedented cooperation” between the federal government and state and local entities.
That cooperation boosts efficiency, requiring fewer officers to be sent into communities “to assume custody of a criminal alien target” and freeing up resources, Homan said.
“More officers taking custody of criminal aliens directly from the jails, means less officers on the street doing criminal operations,” he said. “This is smart law enforcement, not less law enforcement.”
He repeatedly insisted that the administration is “not surrendering” in Minneapolis, which has become a hotbed of civil unrest over the administration’s aggressive deportation tactics.
Tensions between the immigration forces and protesters exploded after federal agents killed two U.S. citizens, Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, during separate altercations in January.
The Department of Homeland Security and its leaders, Kristi Noem, had initially rushed to defend those killings while accusing both Good and Pretti of domestic terrorism.
But as public opinion rapidly soured on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the administration modulated its tone on the deaths, and President Donald Trump sent Homan to Minnesota manage on-the-ground operations.
“We’re not surrendering the president’s mission on a mass-deportation operation,” Homan said Wednesday. “If you’re in the country illegally, if we find you, we’ll deport you. But this is about a targeted enforcement operation, and that’s what we’re going to be doing.”
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