With state and local officials agreeing to turn arrested illegal aliens over to the feds, Homan announced Wednesday that 700 immigration officers had been ordered to leave Minnesota immediately.
County jails could hold individuals for up to 48 hours after their scheduled release to allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to act, as long as it complies with state law, which generally prohibits holding people solely on ICE detainers.
This "increase in unprecedented collaboration" from local jails and law enforcement will reduce the need for as many agents in the field.
Ira Mehlman, media director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, says no one wants the sorts of things that have been happening in Minneapolis, and he thinks this could be "a signal to other sanctuary jurisdictions" that cooperating with ICE is "in everybody's best interest."
Art Arthur, a resident fellow in law and policy at the Center for Immigration Studies, is not surprised that Tom Homan managed to "speak sense" into this situation.
Minnesota officials say its state prisons and nearly all of the county sheriffs already cooperate with immigration authorities, but the two county jails that serve Minneapolis and St. Paul -- and take in the most inmates -- had not previously met ICE's standard, although they both hand over inmates to federal authorities if an arrest warrant has been signed by a judge.
Just last week, Attorney General Keith Ellison said he "could not" make any agreement about how sheriffs share with ICE information about people in their county jails, but Homan has since reportedly had "meaningful dialogue" with him, Governor Tim Walz, and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey about improving coordination with federal immigration enforcement.
That progress – though not a formal statewide legislative deal, helped justify the drawdown.
The border czar added, though, that a widespread pullout will only occur after people stop interfering with federal operations.
Roughly 150 agents are normally stationed in the region, but "Operation Metro Surge" brought around 3,000. This withdrawal of 700 will leave about 2,000 officers in the state.
Arthur says it is a better use of resources.
"[Homan] is now able to pull 700 immigration officers who were otherwise assigned ... out of the state and send them to other parts of the country where their resources are needed," the attorney explains.
He and Mehlman agree that this is a win for the federal government, for immigration enforcement in general, for the local government, and for the people who live in those communities.
