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Trump Says Immigration Enforcement Could Use ‘Softer Touch’

Trump Says Immigration Enforcement Could Use 'Softer Touch' (Screenshot/NBS News)

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that immigration enforcement may benefit from a “softer touch.”

The surge of hundreds of federal agents to the Minneapolis–St. Paul area became controversial following the fatal January shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good during confrontations between federal agents and anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) “rapid response networks.” NBC News anchor Tom Llamas asked what the president learned from Minneapolis. Trump said recent events reinforced the need for balance in immigration policy enforcement.

“I learned that maybe we can use a little bit of a softer touch, but you still have to be tough,” Trump said.

Trump reiterated that his administration remains focused on removing dangerous offenders and maintaining public safety while recognizing the political and social pressures surrounding high-profile operations.

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“We’re dealing with really hard criminals, but look, I’ve called the people. I’ve called the governor. I’ve called the mayor, spoke to them, had great conversations with them,” Trump said. “And then I see them ranting and raving out there, literally, as though a call wasn’t made. We’ve done a great job everywhere.”

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) deployed roughly 3,000 federal agents to Minnesota in what the department described as the largest immigration enforcement operation in U.S. history. As immigration enforcement tensions persisted in Minnesota, Trump said he could invoke the Insurrection Act, which authorizes the president to deploy troops nationwide to suppress civil disorder, rebellion, or unrest. Border czar Tom Homan said Wednesday that “unprecedented cooperation” from state and local authorities in Minnesota will allow DHS to pull back 700 federal law enforcement personnel, marking a partial drawdown of Operation Metro Surge. Homan spoke of getting local jails to notify and transfer undocumented immigrants with criminal records directly to federal custody. As he went on to say, federal agents would no longer need to conduct as many street arrests, reducing the number of officers required on the ground.

“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.

(Featured Image Media Credit: Screenshot/NBS News)