U.S. border czar withdraws 700 immigration agents from Minneapolis

Tom Homan, the White House border czar, announced Wednesday that the federal government would immediately withdraw 700 law enforcement officers from Minneapolis, scaling down the Trump administration's immigration enforcement operations in the area.

The withdrawal follows a deployment in which the Trump administration sent thousands of federal officers and agents to Minnesota. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials characterized the operation as the agency's "largest operation to date." Approximately 2,000 officers and agents will remain in the state after the reduction, Homan said.

The pullback comes after tensions and two deaths during the enforcement operations, as well as citizen protests and concerns about detentions. Local authorities had raised objections to aspects of the operation.

Homan stated that federal officials in Minnesota had made significant progress working with state and local officials despite some differences. He noted that an "unprecedented number of counties" were cooperating with federal officials and allowing ICE to take custody of unauthorized immigrants.

Homan described the Minneapolis operation as successful overall, though he acknowledged that some aspects could have been handled differently. He characterized his relationship with local authorities as productive following earlier criticism over tensions generated by the enforcement activities.