White House border czar Tom Homan announced Wednesday that 700 federal immigration agents would leave Minneapolis after a month-long enforcement surge that has shaken the city and left two people dead.
Homan said at a press conference in the city that the drawdown was made possible by “unprecedented” cooperation between federal and local officials.
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He added that the departing agents would be drawn from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), but that “around 2,000” federal law enforcement officers would remain in the area.
Read more: Fatal ICE Shooting Sparks Scrutiny of Killings in Trump’s Immigration Crackdown
“This is smart law enforcement, not less law enforcement,” he said.
A complete pullback of federal agents would depend on Minnesota’s “cooperation” with federal law enforcement, Homan said.
For the first time, Homan acknowledged the public mounting criticism over the death of Alex Pretti and Renee Good—U.S. citizens who were killed by federal agents as they observed enforcement operations— and addressed the misconduct of federal officials on the ground.
“American people seek and deserve professional and trustworthy, and I and the president expect any misconduct would not be tolerated and swiftly addressed,” Homan said.
“Was it a perfect operation? No. But I’m not going to sit here and say that they failed. It was a great operation,” he added.
Homan said the pullback was the result of the cooperation of the state’s prison and jail systems, which made the “target list” of undocumented immigrants with criminal history much shorter.
Homan also said he has consolidated the chains of command between ICE and CBP in the Twin Cities area. He said that officials from legal and internal departments of the law enforcement agencies will also be on the ground to ensure compliance with the law.
“This reorganization enables ICE to leverage joint intelligence capabilities as well as to reduce overall personnel footprint, and enhance public safety and confidence in the agency’s capabilities and presence here, ” Homan said.
Homan reiterated that immigration enforcement actions will still be happening every day throughout the country as a part of President Trump’s mass deportation policy.
He also said that although everyone has a constitutional right to protest, federal officers should be allowed to do their jobs without harassment or obstruction. Over the past month, at least 158 people have been arrested for doing so, according to Homan.
“I’ve been saying for years now, the extreme rhetoric against the ICE personnel is completely unacceptable. Please stop,” Homan said.
Homan was sent by President Donald Trump last week following public outcry over the shootings of Pretti and Good. During his last press conference last week, Homan conceded “certain improvements could be made” in Minneapolis but vowed to continue immigration operations. Homan has since replaced Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino in Minneapolis, who openly encouraged the harsh tactics and has been reassigned out of the state.