Border czar Tom Homan said on Thursday that a "lot of progress" has been made since he arrived in Minnesota late Monday at President Trump's order, suggesting more federal immigration agents could be pulled back while taking pointed jabs at sidelined Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino.
Under the 64-year-old's revamped strategy, federal agents will zero in on criminal illegal immigrants through targeted actions. At the same time, Homan stressed that people without criminal records are not exempt and could still be detained and deported. "I've been on the ground less than three full days," the Border czar told reporters during a morning press conference.
Taking a Swipe at Noem
"I'm staying until the problem's gone, but we've made a lot of progress — a lot of progress — in the last few days," Homan said. "We can do better," Homan later added. "And I thank the local state leaders for meeting with me, we made some significant gains, significant coordination and cooperation, and you're going to see some massive changes occurring here in this city."
In recent days, Homan has held talks with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, state Attorney General Keith Ellison and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey to try to calm the weeks of unrest in the state's largest city.
Officials have been discussing how to ease tensions between federal immigration agents and local communities while trying to find ways to work together.
Homan didn't give specific details about how many ICE and Border Patrol officers might be pulled back from Minneapolis — where roughly 3,000 federal personnel were deployed — but he suggested a reduction could happen if there's more cooperation from state and local leaders, especially on issues like allowing access to criminal immigrants held in jails.
The focus in these talks has been on de-escalating the conflict and finding practical steps that could reduce friction, rather than sticking with the earlier, broader approach to enforcement that sparked so much backlash.
"I'm also pleased to announce I had a very good meeting with Attorney General Ellison, and he has clarified for me that county jails may notify ICE of the release dates of criminal public safety risks, so ICE can take custody of them," Homan explained.
"We will conduct targeted enforcement operations," he added. "Targeted with a prioritization on public safety threats. I want to be clear — we are not surrendering the president's mission on immigration enforcement."
Homan's Warning
Even so, he warned that if local officials stop cooperating, the Trump administration won't hesitate to send federal agents back in. For months, there were rumors that Homan and Noem were at odds over how to handle enforcement.
Homan pushed for a narrower strategy focused on undocumented immigrants with serious criminal records, while Noem and Bovino favored a much broader sweep targeting anyone in the country illegally. Now, it looks like Homan's approach is winning out.
"I didn't come to Minnesota for photo ops or headlines," Homan said, a comment aimed at contrasting his own approach with others who have sought more publicity during the immigration operation. "I came here to seek solutions, and that's what we're going to do, and we've come a long way."
"I'm not here because the federal government has carried this mission out perfectly," he added at another point.
Homan was sent to Minneapolis after two people protesting federal immigration actions were fatally shot — first 37-year-old Renee Good on January 7, and then 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti on January 24, both killed during clashes between protesters and immigration officers.
