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Border Czar Says MN Crackdown is Over 02/13 06:10
The Trump administration is ending a massive immigration crackdown that
swept across the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and other Minnesota communities,
border czar Tom Homan said Thursday, concluding an operation that led to
thousands of arrests, angry mass protests and the fatal shootings of two U.S.
citizens.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- The Trump administration is ending a massive immigration
crackdown that swept across the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and other Minnesota
communities, border czar Tom Homan said Thursday, concluding an operation that
led to thousands of arrests, angry mass protests and the fatal shootings of two
U.S. citizens.
The crackdown, which the Department of Homeland Security called its "
largest immigration enforcement operation ever," became the most prominent
flashpoint in the debate over President Donald Trump's mass deportation efforts.
The surge of thousands of federal officers changed life across the Twin
Cities. Convoys of unmarked SUVs became commonplace in some immigrant
neighborhoods, where residents could stumble onto masked men in body armor
making arrests and throngs of protesters who filled the air with taunts,
insults and shrieking whistles.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation, which flared up into
street clashes after federal officers killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti in
Minneapolis, became a major political distraction for the Trump administration.
The announcement of a drawdown marked a significant retreat as a new AP-NORC
poll found that most U.S. adults say Trump's immigration policies have gone too
far.
Operation Metro Surge, which started in December, resulted in more than
4,000 arrests, Homan told reporters Thursday morning, declaring it a success.
"The surge is leaving Minnesota safer," he said. "I'll say it again: It's
less of a sanctuary state for criminals."
But while the administration portrayed its Minnesota targets as dangerous
criminals, many had no criminal records and they included working families,
children like 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and U.S. citizens.
Relief and skepticism follow announcement
In a city with a long history of progressive politics, there was skepticism,
along with relief, at Homan's announcement.
"We will believe it when we see it -- and any ICE presence is a threat to
everyone's safety," Minneapolis City Council Member Aurin Chowdhury said in a
statement. "We will be left in the aftermath of destruction, and we will have
to pick up the pieces of our communities."
The surge sent waves of fear through immigrant communities, with children
staying home from school or learning remotely, immigrant businesses temporarily
shutting down and church pews left empty. Residents delivered thousands of
meals to families too afraid to leave home.
A sprawling activist network pushed back against the surge, with thousands
of volunteers tracking the convoys of heavily armed federal agents. Clashes
were commonplace for a time, with protesters throwing snowballs and spraying
graffiti and officers sometimes using tear gas and pepper spray.
Trump initially said the surge was an effort to root out fraud in publicly
funded programs, which he blamed on the state's large Somali community, most of
whom are U.S. citizens. But it soon shifted gears toward other ethnic groups,
such as Latinos and West Africans.
State and local officials, who frequently clashed with federal authorities,
say the swarm of immigration officials has inflicted long-term damage on
Minnesota's economy and immigrant community.
Russ Adams of the Lake Street Council, a nonprofit serving the largely
immigrant neighborhood of the same name, estimated that businesses there lost
tens of millions of dollars in December and January.
"We're not going to recover in March, even if 2,000 ICE agents leave
tomorrow," he said last week. "You don't come back from that."
Governor urges continued vigilance
Democratic Gov. Tim Walz urged residents to remain vigilant in the coming
days as immigration officers prepare to leave and said he will not express
gratitude for the Trump administration officials who caused "this unnecessary,
unwarranted and in many cases unconstitutional assault on our state."
"It's going to be a long road," Walz said at a news conference. "Minnesotans
are decent, caring, loving neighbors and they're also some of the toughest
people you'll find. And we're in this as long as it takes."
The governor proposed a $10 million aid package for businesses that have
suffered, and he called on Washington to help fund the recovery.
"You don't get to break things and then just leave without doing something
about it," he said.
Homan was vague about a timeline for the drawdown, but Walz said Homan
assured him that officers would start leaving immediately.
"We will help you get to the airport," the governor said. "We will clear the
road to get to the airport. I will pack your damn bags if that's what it takes."
Homeland Security funding dispute continues
Homan's announcement came as Democratic lawmakers are demanding restraints
on immigration officers before agreeing to fund DHS. The Trump administration
is trying to secure votes in Congress to prevent federal funding from expiring
at the end of the week.
Walz, a former congressman, said the announcement does not make him any
readier to support restoring DHS funding. He added that he has been in contact
with Democratic leaders in both houses of Congress and urged them to "hold the
line until you get the at least minimum reforms necessary in this rogue agency."
In Washington, Republican Sen. Rand Paul said the shootings in Minneapolis
changed how some Americans saw the immigration crackdown.
"It's clearly evident that the public trust has been lost," the Kentucky
senator said at a Thursday hearing. "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."
Homan says the surge will end but not enforcement
"President Trump made a promise of mass deportation, and that's what this
country is going to get," Homan said.
Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, said during the hearing that the
agency is still looking for about 16,840 people in Minnesota with final orders
of removal.
Homan took over the operation in late January after the second fatal
shooting, of Pretti, and amid growing political backlash about how the
operation was being run by Gregory Bovino, a proudly norm-breaking senior
Border Patrol official who became the public face of the crackdown.
'Don't believe what they say'
Later Thursday, Sheila Rzepecki was among people visiting a makeshift
memorial for Renee Good, an array of candles, posters, flowers and cards left
at the scene of her shooting.
Her son is disabled, she said, and his health aide, who is from Colombia,
has been too scared to leave her home even though she is in the U.S. legally.
"This is the fear they put into such wonderful people in our community,"
Rzepecki said.
She dismissed the claim that the surge left the region safer, saying: "The
people they are rounding up are the people that are so important to our
community. Don't believe what they say."
Many activists said the fight is not over. Lisa Erbes, a leader of the
protest group Indivisible Twin Cities, said officials must be held accountable.
"People have died. Families have been torn apart," Erbes said. "We can't
just say this is over and forget the pain and suffering that has been put on
the people of Minnesota."
In New York, Mayor Zohran Mamdani met in the afternoon with Minneapolis
Mayor Jacob Frey to discuss ways to protect immigrants.
"They thought they could break us, but a love for our neighbors and a
resolve to endure can outlast an occupation," Frey said on social media. "These
patriots of Minneapolis are showing that it's not just about resistance --
standing with our neighbors is deeply American."
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