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Tom Homan Says 700 Federal Agents Are Leaving Minnesota

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Border czar Tom Homan announced Wednesday that “unprecedented cooperation” from state and local authorities in Minnesota will allow the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to withdraw 700 federal law enforcement personnel.

The surge of hundreds of law enforcement personnel to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area by DHS became controversial following the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good by DHS agents in January during confrontations between federal agents and so-called “rapid response networks” opposed to United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Homan said that by arresting illegal aliens with criminal records at jails, fewer agents were needed.

“Given this increase in unprecedented collaboration and as a result of the need for less law enforcement officers to do this work in a safer environment, I have announced effective immediately, we will draw down 700 people effective today,” Homan said.

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Democratic Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis initially declared that police would not cooperate with the operation during an interview with WCCO, a CBS-affiliated TV station in the city, that aired Dec. 7.

“We currently have an unprecedented number of counties communicating with us now and allowing ICE to take custody of illegal aliens before they hit the streets,” Homan said. “Unprecedented cooperation, and I’ll say it again, this is efficient. It requires only one or two officers to assume custody of a criminal alien target rather than eight or ten officers going into the community and arresting that public safety threat.”

“This frees up more officers to arrest or remove criminal aliens,” Homan said. “More officers taking custody of criminal aliens directly from the jails means less officers on the street doing criminal operations. This is smart law enforcement, not less law enforcement. It’s safer for the community, safer for the officers and safer for the alien.”

President Donald Trump declared he would end “Temporary Protected Status” for Somalis in Minnesota on Nov. 22, days after City Journal reported on welfare fraud centered among Somali migrants in the state.

In Minnesota, at least one so-called “rapid response network” monitors ICE vehicles, shares their locations, and calls for support to interact with agents—actions that sometimes result in physical confrontations, according to Fox News Digital. A foundation with ties to left-wing activist George Soros donated over $3.3 million to the groups behind the anti-ICE rioting.

A Daily Caller News Foundation reporter was assaulted by anti-ICE rioters near a makeshift roadblock, which Minneapolis police later cleared. During the press conference, Homan noted over 150 people had been arrested for impeding ICE agents.