White House “border czar” Tom Homan speaks during a press conference at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, Minnesota, February 4, 2026.
Charly Triballeau | Afp | Getty Images
THE Asset the administration will pull down 700 federal law enforcement agents Minnesota ‘Effective immediately,’ border czar says at White House Tom Homan said Wednesday.
After the partial withdrawal, about 2,000 federal agents will remain in the state — a reduction of about 25 percent — with most concentrated in the Twin Cities region encompassing Minneapolis and St. Paul, Homan said at a news conference in Minneapolis.
Homan announced the withdrawal after touting what he called “unprecedented cooperation” between the federal government and state and local entities.
This cooperation increases efficiency, requiring fewer agents to be sent into communities “to assume custody of a foreign criminal target” and freeing up resources, Homan said.
“More police officers dealing with criminal aliens directly from prisons means fewer police officers on the street conducting criminal operations,” he said. “This is smart law enforcement, not less law enforcement.”
He repeatedly insisted that the administration “would not go” to Minneapolis, which has become a hotbed of civil unrest due to the administration’s aggressive deportation tactics.
A “complete withdrawal” from the region will depend on continued cooperation from state and local agencies, as well as “a reduction in violence, rhetoric and attacks against [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] and Border Patrol,” Homan said.
Read more about CNBC’s politics coverageTensions between immigration enforcement and protesters exploded after federal agents killed two U.S. citizens, Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, in separate altercations in January.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem initially rushed to defend the killings while accusing Good and Pretti of domestic terrorism.
But as public opinion rapidly deteriorated about ICE, the administration modulated its tone on the deaths, and the president Donald Trump sent Homan to Minnesota to handle field operations, replacing Gregory Bovino.
“We are not abandoning the president’s mission for a mass deportation operation,” Homan said Wednesday. “If you’re in the country illegally, if we find you, we will deport you. But this is a targeted enforcement operation, and that’s what we’re going to do.”