DHS Pulls 700 Immigration Officers from Minnesota

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will withdraw 700 federal immigration officers from Minnesota "effective immediately," according to Border Czar Tom Homan on Wednesday.

The Details: The officers – from Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the Office of Field Operations (OFO) – are being pulled in what Homan referred to as an "unprecedented collaboration" with local officials. Homan reiterated that, "President [Donald] Trump fully intends to achieve mass deportations during this administration, and immigration enforcement actions will continue every day throughout this country;" however, he reasoned that proper enforcement can be achieved without the existing level of federalization. 

For Context: Homan's purported efforts "to achieve a complete drawdown and end this surge" come a day after a spending package set DHS funding to expire on Feb. 13. "Operation Metro Surge" began when the Trump administration deployed 2,000 ICE agents to Minneapolis, Minnesota, in early January, following widespread reports of fraud in the state linked to Somali immigrants. Throughout January, the operation resulted in multiple DHS-involved shootings and widespread protests, along with the arrests of over 4,000 unauthorized immigrants. In late January, Trump tapped Homan to lead immigration enforcement operations in the state.

How The Media Covered It: News coverage on the left often focused on the controversial immigration enforcement efforts imposed by the Trump administration. NBC News (Lean Left bias) for example, noted that Homan "did not reference the killing of [Alex] Pretti or [Renee] Good in his comments," and compared the thousands of federal officers in Minnesota to the 600 local officers in Minneapolis. The outlet also said, "Trump administration officials have given mixed signals on whether they plan on raising or lowering the temperature in the Twin Cities." Meanwhile, coverage on the right generally focused more on the administration's reports of progress. Washington Examiner (Lean Right) highlighted Homan's assertion that "he and senior homeland security officials have made 'significant progress' in discussions with Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and other state and county officials."

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