'Not an Anomaly... A Blueprint': Homan Says Minnesota ICE Surge Ending—But Mass Deportations Aren't

While people across Minnesota and beyond welcomed "border czar" Tom Homan's Thursday announcement that "Operation Metro Surge is ending," he also made clear that the administration's deadly immigration operations still threaten other US communities, declaring that President Donald Trump "made a promise of mass deportation, and that's what this country's gonna get."

Homan said last week that 700 agents were leaving the state, but around 2,000 would remain. However, as outrage from the public and local officials persisted, he announced Thursday that "I have proposed, and President Trump has concurred, that this surge operation conclude. A significant drawdown has already been underway this week and will continue through the next week."

The administration's "tactical withdrawal" came just a day after a car crash involving federal agents led Democratic Saint Paul Mayor Kaohly Her to renew her call for an immediate end to the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) operation, which has involved officers with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) terrorizing Twin Cities residents for over two months—and even fatally shooting Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.

"Today's announcement reflects what happens when communities organize, speak out, and refuse to accept fear as public policy," said Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations' Minnesota chapter. "This is a hard-fought community victory. But it comes after real trauma, real harm, and the loss of life. That cannot be ignored."

"This moment belongs to the community," Hussein added. "Faith leaders, organizers, tenants, youth, and everyday residents stood together and demanded dignity. That collective action forced change. And we will remain vigilant."

After ICE officer Jonathan Ross killed Good, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey told the agency to "get the fuck out" of his city. After Homan confirmed the operation is ending, the Democrat acknowledged the strong local pushback to the invasion, saying on social media that "they thought they could break us, but a love for our neighbors and a resolve to endure can outlast an occupation."

"These patriots of Minneapolis are showing that it's not just about resistance—standing with our neighbors is deeply American," Frey said. "This operation has been catastrophic for our neighbors and businesses, and now it's time for a great comeback. We will show the same commitment to our immigrant residents and endurance in this reopening, and I'm hopeful the whole country will stand with us as we move forward."

Outgoing Democratic Gov. Tim Walz similarly said that "the long road to recovery starts now. The impact on our economy, our schools, and people's lives won't be reversed overnight. That work starts today."

Minneapolis Community Safety Commissioner Todd Barnette, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, Congresswoman Angie Craig (D-Minn.), and US Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) were also among the Minnesotans welcoming the development. The senator, who is running to replace Walz, said that "Minnesotans stood together, stared down ICE, and never blinked."

Not everyone critical of the operation has been satisfied by local Democrats' response. Progressive organizer and lawyer Aaron Regunberg said Thursday that it is "important to remember that this victory belongs 100%—literally one hundred percent—to the people of Minneapolis. Elected Dems did essentially nothing to bring this about. Our political leadership is dogshit. Everyday Americans, on the other hand, can really do amazing things."

Maurice Mitchell, national director of the Working Families Party, said that "Minneapolis residents' heroic resistance has resulted in this retreat. We hope the people of Minneapolis can start to heal from the monthslong siege of their city, the murder of their neighbors, and the tragedy of families ripped apart by the Trump administration."

Mitchell pointed out that the end of the Minnesota operation comes on the eve of a likely DHS shutdown due to a funding fight in Congress, which is narrowly controlled by Republicans. Because of their slim margins and Senate rules, most bills need some Democratic support to get through the upper chamber to Trump's desk.

"Donald Trump is trying to distract us and turn our attention away from the growing resistance in Congress to funding his campaign of cruelty and retribution," Mitchell said, taking aim at not only the president but also his deputy chief of staff for policy, Stephen Miller, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, "and their cronies" who "refuse to make this agency and its criminal activities accountable to anyone."

"Democrats are using their power by voting NO as a bloc and pledging not one dollar more in DHS funding until demands for accountability are met," he highlighted. Various Democratic leaders have made demands for reforming the department, and specifically its immigration operations, and growing shares of the party's caucus and the public have even called for abolishing ICE.

Progressive Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, whose district includes Minneapolis, said on social media that "ending this operation is not enough. We need justice and accountability. That starts with independent investigations into the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, economic restitution for businesses impacted, abolishing ICE, and the impeachment of Kristi Noem."

Lisa Gilbert, co-president of the watchdog group Public Citizen, said in a statement that "the people of Minnesota set the example of bravery, compassion, and strength against masked, lawless federal agents who vastly underestimated the power of community and peaceful protest."

While calling Homan's announcement "a crucial win," Gilbert also noted that congressional Republicans and the president gave ICE an extra $75 billion in their so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act last year. She stressed that Trump's federal government "is still stripping families from their homes and throwing them into unlivable conditions in detention centers across the country in a militarized mass detention campaign. And there is no sign from the Trump administration that it plans on doing anything—including arresting and persecuting small children—differently."

Recent reporting—including by Wired, which obtained related federal records—has revealed ICE's ongoing expansion efforts across the country. As Wired executive editor Brian Barrett wrote Wednesday:

Its occupation of Minneapolis is not an anomaly; it's a blueprint. Communities deserve to know that they might be next. People have a right to know who their neighbors are, especially when they amount to an invading force.

What we've reported so far fills in only part of the puzzle. It shows what ICE had planned as of January, not beyond. More than 100 addresses remain unknown, some of them in high-concentration states like New York and New Jersey. The specific nature of the work being done in some of these offices remains unclear, as is how long ICE plans to be there.

The need to resolve these questions is urgent as ICE continues to metastasize. At the same time, the Department of Justice has become increasingly aggressive in its dealings with journalists, and has repeatedly claimed that revealing any identifying information about ICE agents or their activities is "doxing." In Minnesota and beyond, ICE and CBP agents have treated observers as enemies, arresting and reportedly harassing them with increased frequency. The DOJ has been quick to label any perceived interference with ICE activity as a crime.

While Barrett pledged that Wired "will continue to report on this story until we have the answers," Gilbert argued to the public that "the victory in Minnesota should galvanize our efforts to fight these atrocities."

"Just as Minnesotans fought back, Congress must now follow suit and refuse to fund DHS agencies that enable such reckless and dangerous acts that, in some cases, have killed people in broad daylight," Gilbert added. "We need drastic reforms now."