Homan signals drawdown happens if Minnesota cooperates on immigration enforcement
By: Sergio Martinez-Beltran, Liz Baker (NPR)
LIAR!
Holman can't drawdown ICE before the midterm elections. Trump's immigration chaos will continue nationwide through Nov. 3, 2026. Trump will be targeting states he lost in 2020. Trump has been using ICE and CBP as his personal paramilitary retribution force.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
MINNEAPOLIS — Tom Homan, the White House's border czar, said in a press conference Thursday the federal government is working on a plan to reduce the number of federal immigration enforcement officers in Minnesota.
Homan's announcement comes a few days after he arrived in the midwestern state to oversee Operation Metro Surge, an aggressive immigration crackdown that has brought about 3,000 federal agents to the state, led to the arrest of undocumented immigrants without a criminal record, and to the death of two U.S. citizens: Renee Macklin Good and Alex Pretti.
"I do not want to hear that everything that's been done here has been perfect," Homan said. "Nothing's perfect, anything can be improved on, 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."
Homan said the plan to pull out federal agents depends on cooperation from Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. Homan said he wants federal agents to have "access to undocumented immigrants who are in state prisons and county jails.
The Minnesota Department of Corrections has claimed all along that they already honor ICE detainer requests despite previous claims to the contrary made by other members of the Trump administration. An ICE official acknowledged this cooperation with state prisons earlier this month.
Homan appeared to anticipate backlash from immigration enforcement hardliners.
"We are not surrendering the president's mission on immigration enforcement," he told reporters.
In a statement to NPR, Frey said "Any drawdown of ICE agents is a step in the right direction- but my ask remains the same: Operation Metro Surge must end."
Homan took over Minnesota's immigration operation on Tuesday after the Trump administration removed Greg Bovino, the divisive and controversial Border Patrol commander.
Bovino had been in charge of indiscriminate sweeps across the Minneapolis region. Those operations have included masked federal agents breaking into people's homes and the intimidation of legal observers who have tracked federal agents' movements in Minneapolis to alert neighbors.
On Thursday, Homan admitted improvements needed to be made to the operation.
"I didn't come to Minnesota for photo-ops and headlines," he said, in a comment seemingly pointed at Bovino, whose presence on social media and the streets have contributed to public outrage over Customs and Border Protection's tactics.
Homan said the administration will prioritize the arrests of known undocumented immigrants with an existing criminal record, and those who pose a public safety threat.
The Trump administration has long maintained that the enforcement surges, which have targeted Democratic and sanctuary cities, were based on enforcing federal law and targeting known criminals. But collateral arrests of undocumented immigrants who are not known targets could still continue, Homan said.
"Members of the community are not the targets of our operations," he said.
Whether or not the drawdown leads to meaningful changes on the streets remains to be seen, and many protesters continue to demand a complete end to ICE presence in Minneapolis.
Homan was asked in the briefing about a new video that has surfaced of Pretti in an encounter with federal agents 11 days before his killing. The video shows Pretti protesting the presence of federal agents and kicking the tail light of one of their vehicles as the agents went to drive away. They then forcefully wrestle him to the ground.
Homan said he wouldn't comment on the video, and said he'd let the investigation into Pretti's shooting play out.
Be a good human. Grossly derogatory comments, blatantly inflammatory comments, excessive trolling, mean-spirited taunting and insults, scamming, spamming, and off topic comments may be removed in compliance with the site's Terms of Service and the Code of Conduct. The moderators have the final word.
Tags
Who is online
123 visitors
Trump is using ICE and CBP as his personal paramilitary retribution force. Trump is going to punish states that did not vote for him while using violence to interfere with the 2026 midterms. That explains why DHS is heavily invested in recruiting ICE agents. That also explains the operational tactics being employed by ICE and CBP; they have not been deployed on law enforcement mission.
Apparently Trump expected protest violence that arose during the BLM race riots so Trump could deploy the National Guard. But that protest violence hasn't materialized. That explains why Trump is trying to gin up excuses to invoke the Insurrection Act and establish de facto martial law as retribution. Trump wants to use violence to directly interfere with and control the outcome of the 2026 midterm elections.
Yeah, it's speculation. Maybe it is a conspiracy theory. But it wouldn't be surprising considering how Trump's has been using a bigger, more intrusive, Big Government so far.
Orrrr..... Occam's Razor being what it is..... we've got a series of operations that nobody thought through very well because they were designed primarily for show.
Had anybody thought this through, there would be measures in place expecting and arresting people who attempt to obstruct. Renee Good would be alive and in jail today.
Nobody is going to remember this by the time we all go to the polls in November.
I can't tell what sort of planning was done. Remember there have been ICE operations in Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington D.C., Memphis, New Orleans, Portland, Charlotte/Raleigh, and smaller operations in a number of cities before the operation in Minneapolis. There were a number of anti-ICE protests during 2025 in other cities where operations were conducted.
Minneapolis was not the first rodeo for ICE and CBP. Minneapolis is the largest ICE operation that has ever been carried out. And ICE really has been more aggressive toward observers. Most of the physical contact and violence has been initiated by ICE and CBP agents.
Except those cities under occupation by ICE. I expect the ICE operations targeting states and cities that Trump lost in 2020 will continue through Nov. 3, 2026. Trump is trying to provoke violence as an excuse to deploy National Guard. That doesn't suggest any of this will wind down soon.
Obviously I wasn't in the meetings so I can't say for sure, but from the outside it looks pretty poor. It looks like these guys on the ground are too easily surprised by left wing nutjob protesters.
Well yeah. Right. There were riots in LA, and let's not forget the ambush in Alvarado. So I guess I just don't understand how there isn't an obvious, well-drilled game plan for how to identify, address, and apprehend (if necessary) people obstructing justice.
It shouldn't look like we didn't expect these people. It shouldn't look like we don't know better than to stand in front of a hostile vehicle. It shouldn't look like we can't manage to arrest an obstructor without shooting him.
Going back to your theory, over my years in business I've learned never to assume malice if ineptitude is a plausible explanation. And if some dumbass is standing in front of a hostile car driven by a crazy lady, ineptitude is more than plausible.
I’d prefer to believe it was incompetence or ineptitude, but there is definitely some malice. It’s the ethos of the whole administration, as far as I can see.
It's a combination of poorly trained not properly vetted bone headed mentalities' under inadequate and misdirected(purposefully) supervisors whose supervision appears quite obvious to have an agenda.
I'm not conspiracy driven, but from all i've read and observed, there most certainly seems to be a much bigger plan to implement insurrection acts in attempts to influence the 2028 elections.
It is just Trumps' MO, and an obvious direction for which Trump will eventually go.
He is corrupt to core, a pedo , and pedo protector payer of many a whore, who should be in prison with Bubba and an asz severely sore, he is the lowest form of scum, and so much lower and more.
Personally, I differentiate between anger and malice. A lot of people are angry. Emotions on both sides are high, and justifiably so. That doesn't necessarily mean they wish ill upon other people.
But emotions tend to encourage inappropriate responses, and we've seen a lot of that on both sides. It's absolutely not acceptable to obstruct LEOs carrying out their duties. It's also not acceptable to shoot people who obstruct with non-lethal force.
In the video, I see evidence of the poor planning I suspected, although I am aware I was probably looking for it subconsciously.
When Bovino says "anyone who touches you"... that's poor planning. We've got officers on the ground with an unclear directive based on a poor interpretation of obstruction. Obstruction does not necessarily require physical contact. Attempting to block an LEO with your vehicle is also obstruction. (the Chicago police chief did an excellent job explaining the criminality of that activity)
Part of the LEO training should be what to do in the event a protester attempts to use their vehicle to block you. There should be a clear instruction and prescribed methods to arrest that person, have the vehicle impounded, and proceed with the enforcement action.
Officers who are properly prepared for the environment before they enter are far less likely to lose their cool. These guys just don't seem to be briefed at all.
I don't know enough about the vetting process to argue that one way or another, but the sheer speed with which they've been deployed certainly makes that a valid question.
The more of politicians I see the more convinced that the primary "agenda" of any elected official is televised political theater. They understand that what they appear to do is far more important than what they actually do because the media shows the shiniest object.
I respect your opinion on that, but I'm not that far along. I don't think that's the plan. I don't think Trump plans that far ahead, I don't think he's smart or patient enough to orchestrate anything that takes that long and I'm absolutely positive he couldn't shut up about it. He would already be tweeting it.
Personally, I see Trump's MO as simpler and more self-aggrandizing.
Nah, that’s coded language, man. That means “find a way to touch people so you can bust some heads and make it sound like their fault.” So, at minimum, agents approach people they don’t need to approach or get closer than they need to. They corner people so they have to touch agents. Sometimes, they just reach out and drag a civilian across a barrier. Or they move someone who - allegedly - needs to move, and whether they resist or not, are attacked for resisting.
Note also, that he reminds them they are on camera, so they should be cagey about it.
And finally, the worst is the declaration that “it’s our fuckin city.” No it isn’t. It’s the people’s city.
I think you're giving these guys a lot more credit than they deserve with regard both to intelligence and subtlety.
Do you see what I'm saying? People who use coded language don't say shit like this immediately after.
Ha ha! Now you're the one giving them too much credit. Guys like this try to be slick about this stuff, but then they can't help themselves. So the one guy asks the boss that pep rally question, "whose city is this?" and the head POS just can't resist. His answer is then absorbed by everyone around him and they spread it to the rest. Like a virus.
The thing is, they could spread a different message. "We're here to enforce immigration law - only. Be respectful of the citizenry whether you're on camera or not. Part of our mission is to respect the Constitution. Try to choose kindness over cruelty." Stuff like that.
Really doesn't feel that way, but go ahead.
Yes. That's what I'm talking about. This is what "lack of subtlety" looks like.
They could. And the protesters could stand down and let them do their jobs. But he's talking to people who know they're likely to be attacked, so it's going to look different.
You said earlier he somehow meant "find a way to touch somebody". They don't have to find a way. They're going to get touched and they understand that. I'm sure you've seen the new video of Alex Pretti spitting on and kicking the tail lights off a LEO vehicle a week or so before his death.
So pretending Bovino is supposed to pretend that stuff like that isn't happening regularly is a bit unrealistic.
I still think that if there was proper planning and preparation on the ground, there would be a process for identifying and arresting people who obstructing justice before things got out of hand.
Just out of curiosity, do you have proof of either of these claims?
That is not relevant to anything that happened the day he was shot. The Right is clinging to this unimportant tidbit, and that is sad. It excuses murder. Some will grasp at any straw to defend the brutality of this administration.
It's an example of the ongoing physical attacks on LEOs. The point is that those are happening everywhere, and they range from things as small as spitting on a car window to an organized ambush, like in Alvarado.
There really isn't any excuse for not having your team prepared for something you know is likely to happen.
Thus why I believe it to be their objective.
Just out of curiosity, do you believe that what we have seen via videos, are the actions of properly and thoroughly trained individuals capable of calmly handling the likely situations they will face?
I see escalation on the agents part. They do not seemed trained for de-escalation.
So my 'proof', would be what i've observed with my own eyes, where is yours ?
If you were in charge, would you have taken precautions in vetting and training to ensure your officers who are armed with lethal force understood the protocol for when and how to use lethal force? And as soon as you see a clear failure to follow protocol (or even common sense), would you act to a) remove the offending officer's ability to use lethal force and b) try to figure out what went wrong and fix it systemically as soon as possible?
Or would you get on national TV and lie your ass off claiming your officers were the real victims because a man with deadly force was trying to massacre them?
I would imagine that honest, honorable, professional LEOs are disgusted by what they have seen and are frustrated watching these loose-cannons erode the delicate level of trust between them and the people that they work to maintain.
One would hope your answer is, in effect, 'yes' that you would act positively to fix the problem with your people and process, but then again nowadays that is no longer predictable.
Nobody?
Just so we’re clear, that’s all it is. What happened yesterday or the day before does not determine what a government agent is allowed to do today.
Nope! There are rules and protocol that are to be followed and the attempt to justify the murder of Pretti due to a prior, at best vandalism charge, is just fckn ridiculous, as usual.
Americans are not known for our long attention spans. The news cycle being what it is, we'll all be talking about something else by then.
You may be right, but I just don't think they're that smart.
I feel like we're accusing people who struggle with checkers of playing 3d chess.
Absolutely. I would have been much more intentional and methodical about every step of the process.
Which, BTW, is why they would never consider me for the job. I'm not a true believer in the mission, and I would behave in a way that they would think is far too cautious.
But I also would be adjusting the game plan along the way. If we came to a place like Minneapolis and ran into an organized group of obstructors, we would develop a plan to address that. The officers would be briefed extensively on all the different behaviors that could constitute obstruction and the guys would be drilled on how to apprehend those criminals appropriately.
I think almost all LEOs understand that situations go sideways and sometimes there are judgment errors. I don't think very many at all would see these situations in black and white.
In any situation where you are in charge of people and mistakes get made, you should be using that as an educational experience that helps you tighten your processes and systems. I'm sure some level of that is happening behind the scenes, and to some degree it would be inappropriate to itemize those procedural changes publicly.
That said, we still seem to keep seeing these guys in the same difficult situations using the same tactics. Whenever you see a team making the same mistakes repeatedly, that's a coaching problem.
Yes and no.
It doesn't change how they need to protect the Constitutional rights of everyone involved.
It can and should change the internal procedures for how they go about enforcing the law. Police are constantly training to meet new threats, and this isn't any different. If your LEOs are being attacked in the street, that should change your procedures.
Now, what absolutely changes in the overall narrative is the idea that these people are just innocent bystanders executed in cold blood. That's very obviously bullshit. I don't think either one should have been shot over their behavior, but that doesn't mean they weren't also in the wrong.
There is a difference between a mistake (e.g. shooting someone who pointed his phone at you that was mistaken for a gun) and the outrageous abuse of lethal force of shooting a man 10 times who is on the ground with 1/2 dozen agents subduing him, being beaten by agents, and having his still holstered weapon removed from the scene.
Both are judgment errors made in moments of high tension.
To my previous point, that tension exists in no small part because the officers are not prepared properly.
Murder is murder, even if the person killed is annoying.
This shit will continue until there are consequences - and consistently consequences - for cops/agents who abuse and murder citizens without a truly good reason.
We don't know either of these killings were murders.
The same can be said for people who obstruct justice. Accountability is not something that only applies to certain people.
No, it cannot. Civilians do not enjoy the “get out of jail free card” known as Qualified Immunity.
If there are no consequences for breaking the law, they have de-facto immunity.
How do you figure there are no consequences? If I stand in front of an ICE vehicle and I decide I’m afraid for my life, do I get to shoot the ICE officer?
If I spit on a police car and then kick the tail light off, I would expect to be arrested.
If I attempted to obstruct police by blocking them with my car, I would expect to be arrested.
If I obstructed police by blocking the exit to their station, I would expect to be arrested.
As any teacher or parent can tell you, allowing small infractions to go unchecked simply encourages larger infractions.
People do get arrested.
Would you expect to get shot and killed?
For what you listed, being ticketed or arrested would likely be considered the norm by most.
The consequences, however, should not be a point-blank shot to your temple as you drive by an agent standing outside your driver window or being shot 10 times after you have been tackled, beaten and are on the ground.
The point here being that neither of our shooting victims were.
Chances are pretty good that both would be alive today had they been arrested earlier.
I would definitely realize that I was increasing my chances for that.
It's not the more probable outcome, but it's definitely more likely than me affecting meaningful change by antagonizing the police.
Obviously the end consequences do not fit the crimes in question.
Again, the point is that if the law is enforced the first time, it's far more difficult for situations to escalate.
If Renee Good's car is blocked in by LEO vehicles (as it would be during an arrest), there is no way to mistake her driving as an attempt to run over an officer.
If Alex Pretti was serving 15 days for vandalizing a cop car, he would be alive today.
He did obey the law.
I'm not sure that worked like you hoped would.
We have two very different points.
There is no question that slight changes, such as being arrested would have prevented the circumstances that caused them to be killed.
So, yes, of course.
And we agree that being killed was unwarranted based on what they did.
So I think Trump should withdraw his public en masse community intrusion of masked, armed DHS agents and refocus more intelligently on getting illegals who are murderers, rapists, drug-dealers, etc. as well as recent illegals (i.e. less than a year) and leave the landscaping, handyman, construction, delivery people, cleaners, farm workers, factory workers, etc. domiciled illegals alone. The latter need to be addressed, but more along the lines of a pathway to citizenship.
To wit, I am all in favor of controlling our borders. Illegals should not exist (ideally). That is what we can do now and in the future. Past failures which resulted in long-term domiciled illegals, working, paying taxes, raising families, etc. need a remedy other than just deporting them.
Since apparently you are an American-- why do you have such a short attention span?
(Curious minds want to know!!!!)
I agree with everything except the pullback. That's only going to encourage more obstruction.
I think they need to clean up their operations, certainly.
I also think we need to be arresting and prosecuting people who commit obstruction more consistently and systematically.
Well the pullback involves narrowing the focus from deporting anyone we might think is illegal to targeting the bad guys.
That would eliminate the need for DHS marching down streets en masse with masks and guns. If the public were to believe that DHS is going after illegals who are murderers, rapists, drug-dealers, etc. I think the opposition would be greatly diminished.
They may have already damaged their credibility too much. But certainly, if they had been engaged in productive targeting as described, we would not be seeing this level of shitstorm and both Good and Pretti would be alive today.
Maybe, but I fear that ship has sailed. I think had that been the strategy from the start, we would be seeing less physical opposition.
Now that we are here, I don't have any confidence these people will stand down if they believe their actions have been effective.
Probably. It is a ugly situation. One more on top of an ever growing pile.
We certainly agree on that.
How did Obama a use them during his term as ‘deporter in chief’?
Where was the leftist riots during that time….when even CNN did a ride along in 2016 and acknowledged them for breaking down doors and scaring children?
They happened.
Protests denounce ICE raids
Immigration activists condemn US deportation of asylum seekers
Immigration Policy Protest Blocks Streets in Downtown Los Angeles
Religious Leaders, Formerly Detained Families, and Advocates Protest Family Detention at White House
Your comment implies that you think there were no demonstrations at all during Obama's presidency, and that is obviously not true. They are larger and more dramatic under the Trump regime, and I think that's because there is more to protest.
I think a majority of Americans support immigration law enforcement. Some of us would like to see the laws improved in various ways. I think there is a clear majority that want to see a prioritization of genuinely bad people - gang members and the like.
They don't want to see ICE camped outside Home Depot, chasing farm workers through fields of corn and strawberries, hovering outside elementary schools. They also don't think people should be harassed based on their skin color or their accent. They don't want people arrested while they're at a green card interview. They don't want masked agents doing damage to people or property and walking away from it.
All of those things are new or dramatically more pronounced under Trump, which is why you see more protests now.
Protesting is fine. No one disputes that.
I specifically asked.....Where were the riots we see today?
Why do we see these riots like this only in Minnesota, and not the other 49 states where ICE is deployed?
Same answer. Disagreement begets protest. Brutality begets riots.
If you’re making comparisons, when Obama was president did ICE shoot protestors? Did they deploy tear gas at schools, playgrounds, and neighborhoods?
The answer of course, is no. Different situations. Different reactions.
Of course you would say this. Anything to protect a D.
How do you know they did not deploy these tactics around the areas you speak of? Did you think maybe the left wing media you follow just failed to report it because it would go against the same narrative your post tries to protect?
I truly do not care about that kind of thing.
If you have different information, by all means, let see it. “How do you know X didn’t happen?” is not very informative.
I don't, but you made the claim they didn't.
I understand the rule here is if you make a claim, you provide evidence.
So, I gave links to stories of riots and demonstrations against immigration enforcement. I think it strains credulity to assume that tactics like beatings, gassing, and shootings would happen and not make it into the news coverage.
What’s more, conservative news outlets existed at this time. Surely, they would have told America if shots were fired or tear gas went floating through a playground. Surely conservative politicians would have said something. Yes?
You asked a question, and I showed you the basic respect of answering it directly, with links. You still haven’t offered anything. So are you trolling? Or are you genuinely confused about why there is so much unrest these days?
Stop projecting.
So what's it going to be? You bitched that he had open borders then call him the deporter in chief?
WTF?
For starters, Obama changed the vetting process from 6 months to 2.5 years in many cases. He also asked congress for 2.5 billion to reinforce the border, (which republicans denied). Typical republicans; complain about a problem, then refuse to help solve said problem so they can keep crying about it. Un-Fucking-Real.
I've never protected Donald, he is a gross human being that doesn't give a fuck about anything but himself. The only way for another human to support such a piece of shit is to either have some sort of shit fetish or be really dumb and gullible.
Where did I say Obama had open borders?
Hmmmm sounds like Democrats and Obamacare....doesn't it?
If we’re making deals, Minnesota should be insisting on full cooperation from the federal government in the investigations of the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. The federal government has been covering up evidence from the moment each shooting happened.
Exactly right. There will be no justice for either of these shootings. And the 5 year old that ICE abducted last week? We'll never hear from him again.
Such bullshit..
The father abandoned the child when he decided to run from ICE. The mother refused to take the child.
You should praise ICE for protecting the child, take him in from the cold and probably giving him a better life now than what he was experiencing before.
You are delusional if you believe this.
[ ✘ ] The father didn't run, he was detained. He's damned lucky they didn't beat him or shoot him.
He told his wife to stay in the house until the other children came home from school and found no one home.
Right now the Administration is seeking to return the whole family to Ecuador regardless of asylum status, place in the court proceedings or citizenship or age.
Ironically claiming a Christian mandate from winning an election, such fools.
WOW... Just wow.
The racism just drips off that comment.
Yes....racism is in every corner of minds of most leftists.
Let's see.....
Father ran from ICE, then was caught and arrested.
Mother refused to take the child
What did you want the ICE agents to do?
Cart the father off and leave the child in the cold?
Why would you allow that to happen to an abandoned child?
Father did not RUN from ICE, mother was in the house and did not refuse to take the child.
A federal judge ordered the release of the father and the child TODAY.
Once again, you're wrong.
Sorry.
Lie number one
" "As agents approached the driver Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, fled on foot - abandoning his child."
Five-year-old boy detained by ICE was actually abandoned by dad, says DHS
Do you have proof of anything otherwise?
" mother was in the house and did not refuse to take the child."
Lie number two...
" "The child was ABANDONDED by his father, and the alleged mother REFUSED to take custody of her own child. Our law enforcement took care of the child, got him McDonald’s and played him his favorite music to comfort him. Parents are asked if they want to be removed with their children, or ICE will place the children with a safe person the parent designates," DHS said in a post on X.
You can disagree with DHS account all you want, but if you do, post something CREDIBLE that says otherwise. There is a report that there was an adult that supposedly lived in the house outside but ICE refused to give that person the child. Do you know why?
Because the Biden admin lost 300,000 children in a span of four years to a myriad of nefarious characters, including child traffickers, smugglers, child slave laborers, etc. This admin does not want to follow in the dementia boy, DEI VP and ass wipe Mayorkas footsteps.
Minnesota refused to help ICE in their operaitons they can sit out these investigations as well.
Well now that the adults are taking over DHS and the DOJ, they have already pledged a Civil rights case for Pretti and promised transparency and cooperation with the usual MN agencies.
DOJ opens civil rights investigation into Pretti shooting, Blanche says - POLITICO
What next, a case for Good?
I will be happily relieved if we get actual investigations.
An honest government that is rooted in justice and embraces basic human morality should not fear the kind of investigations that we would normally have in these situations. It is particularly horrific that ordinary citizens are prepared to look the other way just for politics.
Amen, and there is plenty of evidence right here in these "pages".
And doing it blatently.
The last times we used the terms "de-escalate" or "draw down" was in Vietnam and Afghanistan.
ICE is retreating and HSI, the grownups, are once again in charge.
Real criminals do things like accept cash bribes in paper bags from undercover FBI agents. But let’s go after the gardener instead.