US border chief publicizes the conclusion of a federal operation with 700 immigration brokers set to depart Minnesota.
Revealed On 12 Feb 2026
Tom Homan, the US border safety chief, says that the immigration crackdown in Minnesota that led to mass detentions, protests and two deaths is coming to an finish.
“Because of our efforts right here, Minnesota is now much less of a sanctuary state for criminals,” Homan mentioned at a information convention on Thursday.
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“I’ve proposed, and President [Donald] Trump has concurred, that this surge operation conclude.”
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) launched Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota on December 1 as Trump continuously rebuked the state and its seizable Somali community.
Homan mentioned ICE operations would proceed as they did earlier than the operation started.
“By way of focused enforcement operations primarily based on cheap suspicion, and prioritising security and safety, ICE will proceed to establish, arrest, and take away unlawful aliens who pose a threat to public security, as we’ve completed for years,” he mentioned.
Federal authorities say the sweeps centered on the Minneapolis-St Paul metro space have led to the arrest of greater than 4,000 folks. Whereas the Trump administration has known as these arrested “harmful felony unlawful aliens”, many individuals with no felony information, together with kids and US residents, have additionally been detained.
Minnesota Tim Walz mentioned on Thursday he was “cautiously optimistic” after the Trump administration’s announcement of drawing down the immigration crackdown in his state.
“They left us with deep harm, generational trauma,” Walz advised reporters. “They left us with financial break in some instances.”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey additionally welcomed the announcement, likening the immigration operation to army occupation.
“They thought they might break us, however a love for our neighbors and a resolve to endure can outlast an occupation,” Frey wrote on X “These patriots of Minneapolis are displaying that it’s not nearly resistance — standing with our neighbors is deeply American.”
Reporting from the White Home Home Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher mentioned the operation of Minnesota proved to be a public relations “catastrophe” for Trump, citing opnion polls that confirmed public opposition to ICE’s ways.
“It was dangerous publicity for Donald Trump, and he was getting an excessive amount of criticism, not simply from Democrats, not simply from folks within the state, however from Republicans across the nation as nicely – that this was not the picture that they wished to painting,” Fisher mentioned.
Holman’s announcement got here as US legislators had been holding hearings questioning authorities officers over the immigration crackdown in Minnesota, which noticed mass protests and the killing of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal brokers.
