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US federal officials are working on a plan to “reduce” the number of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minnesota if state officials grant access to local prisons, Donald Trump’s border czar has said.
Tom Homan said at a news conference Thursday that he has made “a lot of progress” since being deployed to Minneapolis following the fatal shooting of nurse Alex Pretty in the state’s largest city last weekend.
“I have personnel from CBP and ICE working on a drawdown plan,” he said, also referring to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Homan’s comments mark a decisive shift from the Trump administration’s hardline tactics in the president’s core immigration policy, after Preeti’s death sparked outrage across the political spectrum.
Homan suggested a more “targeted” approach from ICE – which has launched widespread immigration enforcement raids across the US – but he also defended the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration and described ICE agents as “American patriots.”
He also suggested that cuts would depend on an agreement with local authorities, saying that access to prisons would “allow us to reduce the number of people we have here”.
Homan said Minnesota Attorney-General Keith Ellison had “made clear” that county jails can notify ICE of detainees’ releases, but he asked for greater access for local jails.
“It’s common sense cooperation that will allow us to reduce the number of people that are here,” Homan said. “Yes, I said it: reduce the number of people here.”
Homan’s comments come as President Donald Trump is trying to quell outrage, including within his own party, over the shootings of mother-of-three Preeti and Renee Good by federal agents following a surge in immigration officials in the Midwestern city in recent weeks.
The border czar acknowledged anger over the agents’ actions on Thursday, saying: “I’m not here because the federal government has completely accomplished this mission.”
U.S. Senator Susan Collins also said Thursday that ICE has ended its “enhanced operations” in Maine after calls from local officials for federal immigration officials to leave the state.
“There are no large-scale ICE operations underway or planned here at this time. I am urging Secretary Noem and others in the administration to ask ICE to reconsider its approach to immigration enforcement in the state,” Collins said, referring to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
