Trump ends ICE surge in Minnesota; border czar Homan hails ‘great success’

The Trump administration will withdraw the remaining ICE and Border Patrol forces in Minnesota, White House border czar Tom Homan said Thursday.

He said they had done what they came to do and called the operation a “great success.”

Mr. Homan said he has seen improved cooperation from local authorities in turning over illegal immigrants from jails and in responding to violent protests and obstruction in the streets. He said the two months of federal activity have taken most of the deportation targets off the streets.

“I have proposed, and President Trump has concurred, that this surge operation conclude,” Mr. Homan said.

He said those in the Minneapolis area are being reassigned, either returned to their home regions or deployed to other surge operations.

A “small footprint” will remain to close out the operation and turn over functions to the regional office for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which usually maintains about 150 people.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, celebrated the withdrawal and cast it as a victory for resistance to ICE.

“I think it’s probably safe to say the rest of the country will be forever grateful because they showed what it means to stand up for what’s right, to stand up for the true principles of this country,” he said.

He said, however, that his state needs healing.

“They left us with deep damage, generational trauma,” he said.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey also took a victory lap.

“They thought they could break us, but a love for our neighbors and a resolve to endure can outlast an occupation,” he said.

The withdrawal ends what had been a low point for Mr. Trump. Support for his immigration agenda tumbled after the shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens during clashes with federal agents.

Even Mr. Trump’s supporters said the operation was bungled, with Border Patrol agents who usually patrol remote areas of the international boundaries being sent deep into a heartland city poised to resist.

At the peak of the surge, some 3,000 additional ICE and Customs and Border Protection personnel were deployed.

Mr. Homan said the withdrawal wasn’t a retreat on Mr. Trump’s mass deportation agenda. He said rank-and-file illegal immigrants can still be deported if they are encountered.

“President Trump made a promise of mass deportations, and that’s what this country’s going to get,” he said.

Those who battled the president over the surge saw the withdrawal as a surrender.

“Today’s announcement reflects what happens when communities organize, speak out, and refuse to accept fear as public policy,” said Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. “This is a hard-fought community victory.”

The final tally was more than 4,000 arrests.

Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons told Congress on Thursday that 16,840 illegal immigrants with final deportation orders were at large in Minnesota.

The Homeland Security Department first deployed personnel in early December as Mr. Trump reacted to reports that the Somali immigrant community in the Minneapolis region had engaged in large-scale fraud, stealing hundreds of millions of dollars in government benefits.

Reporting suggested that some of that money was being siphoned to al-Shabab, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.

Previous surges in Los Angeles and Chicago drew violent protests, but Minnesota proved more extreme. Well-coordinated ICE opponents used social media and messaging apps to coordinate resistance.

Federal officials said local authorities refused to respond when protests crossed the line into obstruction or riots. The Homeland Security Department then had to deploy its own force protection teams to back up its arrest teams.

As a result, it took 15 officers and agents to make a single arrest in the community. While out in the community, they were arresting rank-and-file illegal immigrants they encountered, even if they weren’t the original targets.

The deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti proved to be watershed moments.

Senate Democrats have demanded reforms before they will relinquish a filibuster and allow passage of a new Homeland Security Department spending bill. The department is facing a shutdown at midnight Friday, though ICE has an independent source of funding that will allow it to continue operating for the most part.

In a hearing Thursday, Sen. Rand Paul, Kentucky Republican, led Mr. Lyons and Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott through a viewing of the video of Pretti’s death. He called the way CBP personnel handled the encounter “terrible police work.”

“To restore trust in ICE and Border Patrol, they must admit their mistakes, be honest and forthright with their rules of engagement, and pledge to reform,” Mr. Paul said.

The Pretti shooting also led Mr. Trump to boot Gregory Bovino, the Border Patrol official he had placed in control of surge operations, back to the border. The president sent Mr. Homan to clean up.

Mr. Homan moved to erase what had seemed to be a culture of impunity. He requested more internal affairs personnel and imposed a zero-tolerance policy against misconduct.

“There were some issues here. We fixed those issues,” he said.

He reached out to state and local leaders, who toned down their rhetoric and allowed their police to use crowd control measures against unruly protesters. On Thursday, Mr. Homan specifically thanked Mr. Walz and Mr. Frey, who had been vicious critics of the surge, for their more recent tone.

Mr. Homan thanked the officers and agents who had been deployed.

“You achieved a great success for the Minnesota communities,” he said.