US President Donald Trump has agreed to end sweeping federal immigration operations in Minnesota, White House border czar Tom Homan said on Thursday.
It marks the end of a mission that led to widespread protests in the state, particularly in the city of Minneapolis, as well as nationwide demonstrations following the killings of two US citizens.
“I have proposed, and President Trump has concurred, that this surge operation concludes,” Mr Homan said during a press conference. “A significant drawdown has already been under way this week and will continue to the next week.”
He said, however, that “a small footprint of personnel will remain for a period of time to close out, and transition full command and control back to the field office".
Under Operation Metro Surge, Mr Trump had posted about 3,000 armed immigration agents by the end of last month to deport undocumented immigrants in Minnesota, with a focus on Minneapolis.
During the protests the immigration crackdown elicited, agents from Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement shot and killed Alex Pretti and Renee Good in separate incidents, days apart, both recorded on video, which led to further demonstrations in Minneapolis and in cities across the country.
A week ago, Mr Homan announced that about 700 immigration agents would be withdrawn. He said on Thursday that many of the remaining agents posted from other states would be sent home in the coming week, citing in part what he called “unprecedented” co‑ordination with local law enforcement agencies in Minnesota.
“We’ve seen a big change here last couple weeks, it’s all good changes,” Mr Homan said.
The moves come as Mr Trump’s approval rating on immigration, once a political asset, has fallen amid criticism over the aggressive actions of federal agents in US cities.
A poll from the Associated Press-Norc Centre for Public Affairs Research released earlier on Thursday found that 62 per cent of those surveyed said posting federal immigration agents into cities had “gone too far”. Among those surveyed, 54 per cent said Mr Trump had gone too far in restricting legal immigration and 52 per cent said the same regarding efforts to deport immigrants living in the US illegally.
Mr Trump has previously said he decided to scale back the operation in Minneapolis, telling NBC News in a recent interview that he was “not happy with what happened there”. Administration officials have sought to place the blame for the tension on state and local officials, accusing them of endangering public safety by opposing the federal presence.
