Border czar Tom Homan announced Thursday the surge of federal immigration officers in Minnesota is concluding, with a drawdown set to occur over the course of next week.
“I have proposed, and President Trump has concurred, that this surge operation conclude,” Homan said.
This was Homan’s third update since he was tasked to lead the charge of Operation Metro Surge late last month. Federal officials haven’t disclosed the agenda for the briefing.
Homan arrived in Minnesota in late January, less than a week after federal officials announced Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino and some of his agents would be leaving the area.
On Feb. 4, Homan said federal authorities were going to immediately “draw down” 700 law enforcement personnel in Minnesota and that around 2,000 agents would remain in the state. The number was around 150 before the surge.
“My goal, with the support of President Trump, is to achieve a complete drawdown and end this surge as soon as we can, but that is largely contingent upon the end of illegal and threatening activities against ICE and its federal partners that we’re seeing in the community,” Homan said earlier this month.
Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday said he expected Operation Metro Surge to last “days, not weeks and months.”
White House officials said earlier this month that there have been at least 4,000 arrests in Minnesota connected with the federal operation.
