Border Czar Tom Homan meets Gov. Tim Walz, Mayor Jacob Frey in Minnesota
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Border czar Tom Homan met with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey on Tuesday; The Trump administration has ratcheted up its federal immigration crackdown following two deadly shootings and subsequent protests in the Twin Cities.
The meetings come after President Donald Trump on Monday replaced Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino with Homan to lead operations in Minnesota following the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti by a Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis.
“Today I met with Governor Walz, Mayor Frey, and senior law enforcement officials to discuss issues on the ground in Minnesota,” Homan said in a post on X. “We all agree that we need to support our law enforcement officers and take criminals off the streets. While we may not agree on everything, these meetings were a productive starting point and I look forward to further discussions with key stakeholders in the coming days.”
Homan added that Trump emphasized that he wants American cities “to be and will be safe and secure for law-abiding residents.”
TRUMP MEETS ‘VERY GOOD’ WITH MINNEAPOLIS MAYOR FREY, ANNOUNCES BORDER CZAR HOMAN MEETING
White House border czar Tom Homan was dispatched to Minnesota on January 26, 2026, to oversee the state’s immigration crackdown. (Jim Watson/Getty Images)
Following his meeting with Homan on Tuesday morning, Walz said he reiterated the need for “impartial investigations” into recent shootings involving federal agents in Minneapolis, called for “a rapid and significant reduction in the number of federal forces in Minnesota” and “an end to the revenge campaign against Minnesota.”
“The Governor and Homan agreed on the need for an ongoing dialogue and will continue to work toward these goals, which the President acknowledged yesterday,” Walz’s office said in a statement. he said, adding that he assigned the Minnesota Department of Public Safety as the primary point of contact to address Homan’s priorities.
Frey said he and Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara had a “productive conversation” with Homan.
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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz met with Trump border czar Tom Homan as the administration transitions federal immigration leadership in the state. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“I reiterated that my main request was for Operation Subway Surge to end as quickly as possible,” Frey wrote to X. “Public safety works best when it is built on community trust, not tactics that create fear or division. I shared with Mr. Homan the serious negative impacts this operation has had on Minneapolis and surrounding communities, as well as the pressure it has placed on our local police officers.”
Frey also made clear that “Minneapolis does not and will not enforce federal immigration laws and we will focus on keeping our neighbors and our streets safe,” adding that city leaders “will continue to stay in contact with Mr. Homan and his team.”
After Bovino, the face of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, left Minnesota, a White House official told Fox News Digital early Tuesday that claims that the administration was “backtracking” in Minnesota were false.
AS TENSIONS RISE IN MINNEAPOLIS AT THE END OF FEDERAL SHOTS, TRUMP SAID WALZ ‘WANTS TO WORK TOGETHER’
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said he called on Trump border czar Tom Homan at the Jan. 27 meeting to end Operation Metro Surge as quickly as possible. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
Trump told Fox News on Tuesday that the shakeup was not a “retreat.”
“I don’t think this is a retreat. It’s a bit of a change,” he said. “You know, Bovino is a very nice, but rather nice guy. And in some cases that’s good, maybe it wasn’t good here.”
Trump said Monday that he spoke with Walz after Pretti was shot to death on Saturday, saying the Minnesota governor was “very respectfully” open to deporting “any criminal they have.”
The president also spoke with Frey on Monday, and Frey said following their call that Minneapolis “will continue to cooperate with state and federal law enforcement in actual crime investigations – but we will not participate in unconstitutional arrests of our neighbors or enforce federal immigration law.”
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Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.
