MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Trump administration's drawdown of its immigration enforcement surge in the Twin Cities area has been met with relief, but state officials and residents say its effects on Minnesota’s economy and immigrant communities will linger.
Thousands of officers were sent to the Minneapolis and St. Paul area for Operation Metro Surge, which the Department of Homeland Security called its “ largest immigration enforcement operation ever " and touted as a success. But President Donald Trump's enforcement campaign came under increasing criticism as the situation grew more volatile.
The shooting deaths of U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal officers drew condemnation and raised questions over officers' conduct, prompting changes to the operation.
And despite the announced end to the surge, Democratic Gov. Tim Walz urged Minnesotans to remain vigilant and said the damage would be lasting.
“The fact of the matter is they left us with deep damage, generational trauma,” Walz said. “They left us with economic ruin, in some cases. They left us with many unanswered questions.”
The operation leaves a mark
Following the announcement Thursday, some residents held a vigil at a makeshift shrine that went up where Good was shot in Minneapolis.
Mark Foresman, an attendee from the suburb of St. Louis Park, said he is skeptical that the agents will leave.
“The Trump administration has created an atmosphere of distrust for government in general," he said, suggesting the Trump administration’s tactics seemed designed to sow fear. “They’ve repeatedly been caught in lies.”.
John Schnickel, a local who attended the vigil, disputed Trump officials' claims that the operation had made Minnesota safer.
“I don’t even want one ICE person here, if they act the way they’ve been acting,” said local attendee John Schnickel. “They talk about how the murder rate is down, and yet they’ve added two people to it,” he said.
Most U.S. adults say they think Trump’s immigration policies have gone too far, according to a recent AP-NORC poll.
Homan credits improved coordination
Border czar Tom Homan told reporters Thursday that “extensive engagement” with state and local officials allowed for a formal end to the operation.
Trump shifted his tone and dispatched Homan to reduce tensions after the Jan. 24 killing of Pretti, saying that he and Walz were on a “similar wavelength” after weeks of barbs between the two leaders.
Homan on Thursday highlighted examples of newfound cooperation with state and local entities, including law enforcement being increasingly responsive to requests for assistance and agreements on how jails handle deportable inmates.
The White House had long accused Minnesota of protecting criminals from deportation with so-called sanctuary laws. But Homan shifted that narrative dramatically in recent days, saying there was now “unprecedented collaboration” between immigration officers and Minnesota law enforcement.
But he never explained what had changed.
Many of Minnesota’s county jails, as well as the state’s prison system, have long shared information with federal immigration authorities so they can take custody of arrested immigrants.
The major exception is the Hennepin County Jail, which serves Minneapolis and which doesn’t work with immigration authorities unless an arrest warrant has been signed by a judge.
On Friday, Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt, who oversees the jail, insisted no policies had changed.
Homan also said he made various internal changes since arriving, including changing certain personnel, deploying body cameras and making clear that misconduct by immigration officers would not be tolerated.
“There were some issues here. We fixed those issues,” Homan said. “We’ve had great success with this operation and we’re leaving Minnesota safer.”
Immigration enforcement will continue, but with a smaller footprint
Homan announced last week that 700 federal officers would leave Minnesota immediately, but that still left more than 2,000 in the state. He said Thursday that a “significant drawdown” was already underway and would continue through next week.
Homan said he would be on the ground for a “little longer” and that a small team would facilitate the transition, in part ensuring continuing cooperation from state and local authorities.
He did not specify how many officers would remain, but he said targeted enforcement would continue in the Twin Cities. Todd Lyons, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s acting director, said during a congressional hearing Thursday that the agency is still searching for about 16,840 people in Minnesota who have final orders of removal.
Homan also made clear that the administration would continue to deliver on Trump’s promise of mass deportations across the country, and said officers leaving Minnesota will report back to their stations or be assigned elsewhere.
The focus on the Twin Cities, which Trump had pushed for partly because of fraud allegations involving Somali residents, followed increased deployments in big cities and small towns run by Democrats, including Los Angeles, Chicago, Charlotte and New Orleans.
Fallout in Congress and the courts
Even as the Twin Cities operation ends, the fallout is ongoing.
The Trump administration is trying to secure votes in Congress to prevent federal funding for the Department of Homeland Security from expiring at the end of the week, as Democratic lawmakers demand restraints on immigration officers following Good and Pretti’s killings.
And there are ongoing federal investigations into the shooting of Pretti.
The effects of the Minnesota crackdown will also continue to play out in court, as federal prosecutors pursue cases against protesters and deportation cases slowly proceed.
A federal judge issued a temporary emergency order Thursday, finding that immigrants detained at a federal building in Minnesota have too many barriers to legal counsel. A DHS spokesperson maintained in a statement that detainees are provided access to phones, adding that the building is a processing facility, not a detention center.
On Friday, former CNN host turned independent journalist Don Lemon and four others were set to be arraigned on federal civil rights charges, accused in a protest at a Minnesota church where an ICE official is a pastor.
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Fingerhut reported from Des Moines, Iowa. Associated Press reporters Tim Sullivan in Minneapolis and Sarah Raza in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, contributed to this report.
