Border czar touts 'progress,' cooperation in Minnesota with drawdown plans underway
(TNND) — President Donald Trump's border czar Tom Homan told reporters Thursday morning that federal immigration enforcement officials are working on drawdown plans in Minnesota.
But Homan said the number of agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol in the state can only decrease when there’s “common-sense cooperation” that allows them to take custody of criminally accused illegal immigrants in Minnesota jails and not primarily off the streets.
Homan said he’s been in Minnesota for less than three full days and has already “made a lot of progress, a lot of progress.”
He said he’s met with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, state Attorney General Keith Ellison, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and numerous police chiefs and sheriffs.
There were disagreements over immigration policy, but Homan said all the Minnesota officials he’s met with agreed community safety is paramount, that ICE is a legitimate law enforcement agency that has a duty to protect the American people, and that ICE would have access to criminally accused illegal immigrants in Minnesota jails and prisons.
Homan, flanked by ICE official Marcos Charles and Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott, said the Minnesota state prison system has been honoring ICE detainers.
“I'm also pleased to announce I had a very good meeting with Attorney General, Attorney General Ellison, and he has clarified for me that county jails may notify ICE of the release dates of criminal public safety risks so ICE can take custody of them upon their release from the jail,” Homan said.
Homan said jail access is vital to drawing down ICE presence on the streets of Minneapolis, where tensions have flared and two protesters, Alex Pretti and Renee Good, have been fatally shot in encounters with federal officers.
“Give us access to the illegal alien public-safety threat in the safety and security of a jail,” Homan said. “It's common sense. It's safer for the community, it’s safer for the agent, and it’s safer for the alien, because anything can happen in a street arrest.”
Homan repeatedly blamed the Biden administration for allowing 10 million illegal immigrants and 2 million “got-aways” to cross the border, which he said made America less safe.
Homan said he’ll stay in Minnesota until the “problem's gone” and will continue to engage state and local leaders, including those in the business and religious communities, on ways to cooperate and “regain law and order in the city beloved by many.”
“I've heard many people want to know why we're talking to people who they don't consider friends of the administration,” Homan said. “Bottom line is you can't fix problems if you don't have discussions.”
Homan said he’s already got some “good wins” for the people of Minnesota and gave state officials credit for sharing his concerns over public safety.
Homan said he understands the surge of ICE and Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis causes stress to the community.
He voiced support for peaceful protests, though he said they should be directed at Congress rather than rank-and-file agents in the streets.
And he said “agitators” need to tone down their hostile rhetoric aimed at the federal agents.
That, too, is a condition for a federal drawdown in Minneapolis, he said.
“I begged for the last two months on TV for the rhetoric to stop,” Homan said. “I said in March if the rhetoric didn't stop there was going to be bloodshed. And there has been. I wish I wasn't right. I don't want to see anybody die: not officers, not members of the community, and not the targets of our operations.”
Homan said officials would have zero tolerance for protesters who they feel are impeding law enforcement activities.
Homan declined to discuss reports of protesters tracking ICE agents and coordinating their anti-ICE activities via apps, though he warned “they’ll be held accountable.”
Homan also declined to talk about the Pretti and Good shootings, saying the investigations should be allowed to play out.
Homan emphasized that ICE operations in the city would be “targeted” and agents who don’t act professionally will be “dealt with.”
He called ICE agents “patriots” who put themselves on the line for the nation every day. And Homan said the agents are operating in challenging conditions.
Homan said the administration’s immigration mission remains the same, but they’ll carry out the mission “smarter” moving forward in Minnesota.
“I do not want to hear that everything’s been done here has been perfect. Nothing's ever perfect,” Homan said. “Anything can be improved upon, and what we've been working on is making this operation safer, more efficient, by the book. The mission is going to improve because of the changes we're making internally.”
