In a significant shift in immigration enforcement strategy, White House Border Coordinator Tom Homan revealed plans Thursday to substantially reduce federal immigration personnel in Minneapolis. The decision follows successful negotiations with Minnesota state and local leaders that established a new framework for handling undocumented immigrants who pose public safety risks.
During a Minneapolis press conference, Homan detailed the agreement reached with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Mayor Jacob Frey. The arrangement ensures that individuals arrested for public safety offenses will not be released back into the community but instead will be lawfully transferred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody upon completion of their local sentences.
“This common-sense cooperation eliminates the need to repeatedly arrest the same public safety threats,” Homan explained. “County jails will now notify ICE of release dates for identified criminal risks, enabling seamless federal custody transfer.”
The border czar confirmed that personnel from both Customs and Border Protection and ICE are developing a detailed drawdown plan contingent on continued local cooperation and the diminishing number of enforcement targets. Homan emphasized that further reductions would be possible if what he described as “hateful rhetoric and interference” against immigration agents ceases.
The announcement came during Homan’s three-day mission to Minnesota dispatched by President Donald Trump. While declining to comment on recent fatal shootings involving border patrol agents, Homan strongly condemned the “hostile rhetoric and dangerous threats” directed against immigration enforcement personnel.
This policy shift represents a pragmatic approach to immigration enforcement that prioritizes dangerous offenders while potentially reducing the federal footprint in communities demonstrating cooperation with federal priorities.