Tom Homan says he will scale back federal agents in Minnesota — if they have access to jails
Border policy adviser Tom Homan said at his first news conference since taking over federal immigration operations in Minnesota following the killings of two U.S. citizens that operations in the state would end if agents were allowed into local jails instead.
“Getting law enforcement resources out of here depends on cooperation,” Homan said Thursday. “When we see collaboration happening, redeployment will happen.”
Homan stated that the federal government is not backing down from its aggressive immigration agenda.
“We are certainly not giving up on our mission… We are not giving up on the president’s mission to control immigrants: let’s make that clear.”
President Trump announced Monday that he would send Homan to Minnesota, sidelining Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, who oversees operations in the state, as public outrage grew over Border Patrol agents shooting 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse Alex Pretti.
Pretti was the second U.S. citizen to be fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis in recent weeks. On January 7, a federal officer shot and killed U.S. citizen Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three.
“I’m not here because the federal government has done this job perfectly,” Homan said Thursday. “President Trump wants this fixed, and I will fix it.”
Since arriving in Minnesota, Homan has met with a number of Democratic officials, including Gov. Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.
“The bottom line is, if there are no discussions, you can’t solve problems,” Homan said. “I came here to look for a solution, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
Homan said Ellison acknowledged that county jails “may notify ICE of the release dates of criminal public safety risks” so that ICE can detain them. Homan said the Trump administration would deploy fewer agents to communities if local officials allowed ICE access to jails.
“More agents in prison means fewer agents on the street,” Homan said. “This is a common-sense collaboration that allows us to reduce the number of people we have here.”
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has long conducted targeted operations against criminals. However, during the first year of Trump’s second term, federal agents began expanding their focus; They conducted large-scale raids, catching non-English speakers and brown people swiping merchant cards in Home Depot parking lots, car washes, or on the streets.
Homan, who has positioned himself as a moderate and was the former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement under Trump, said he has been pleading for months for tensions to be eased.
“I don’t want to see anyone die, not cops, not community members, not the targets of our operations,” Homan said.
“I said in March that if the rhetoric did not end there would be bloodshed, and it happened,” he said. “I wish I wasn’t right. I don’t want to see anyone die—not officers, not members of the public, not the targets of our operations.”
Homan said he also called on local law enforcement leaders to work with the federal government to keep immigration officials safe.
“The chiefs I talked to are committed to responding to 911 calls when protesters become violent, when agents are in a dangerous situation, and when there are attacks,” Homan said. “They are committed to protecting public safety and responding to peacekeeping needs, not enforcement of immigration law.”
Homan said people in Minneapolis threatened and attacked federal agents. “If you don’t like what ICE is doing, go protest Congress,” he said.
More than 3,000 federal immigration agents are working in Minnesota as part of Operation Metro Surge, the Trump administration’s aggressive enforcement.
Homan said an internal memo reviewed by Reuters showed ICE officers operating in the state were instructed on Wednesday to avoid contact with “agitators” and target only “aliens with criminal backgrounds.”
According to Reuters, Marcos Charles, a top official in ICE’s Enforcement and Deportation Operations division, instructed officers via email to “DO NOT CONTACT OR ENGAGE INDICATIVES.”
This story will be updated
