Tom Homan Vows Not To Surrender Immigration Enforcement While Chaos Ensues In Minnesota

Border czar Tom Homan declared on Thursday that federal immigration officials will not back down as tensions escalate in Minnesota.

Homan held a press conference to brief the public on his meetings with state officials, including Democratic Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and address the ongoing upheaval in Minnesota. He assured that immigration officials will not be “surrendering” their mission of arresting criminal illegal aliens.

“We are not surrendering the president’s mission in immigration enforcement,” Homan said. “Let’s make that clear. Prioritization of criminal illegals doesn’t mean we forget about everybody else. That’s just simply ridiculous. But when you have a criminal standing here and a non-criminal standing there, that criminal always should be targeted because he’s a significant concern to the safety and security of the community.” 

“By and large, for decades, ICE and [Customs and Border Protection] have carried out their duties with integrity, professionalism, and compassion. That remains the expectation under President Trump and we will, I will, hold our agents and officers to that standard,” Homan continued. 

Homan also confirmed during the presser that he had a productive meeting with officials in Minnesota and expressed hope of a drawdown in personnel over time. Ellison also told Homan that county jails can notify ICE of the release dates of public safety threats so agents can track them down and take them into custody.

Trump sent Homan to Minnesota on Monday night following the death of Alex Pretti, an armed anti-ICE protester who was shot and killed by a Border Patrol agent on Jan. 24. New footage showed Pretti spitting at immigration enforcement and breaking the taillight of their vehicle 11 days before his death.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem is facing scrutiny and impeachment threats after she alleged that Pretti acted as a domestic terrorist by approaching Border Patrol agents with a firearm. Noem’s accusations against Pretti reportedly came from top officials in the White House, specifically White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, who called Pretti an “assassin” in a statement on X, sources told Axios.

Riots escalated throughout Minnesota after the death of Renee Good, who got shot by an ICE agent after she hit him with her car on Jan. 7. Federal officials have accused local and state law enforcement of not helping to quell the unrest throughout Minnesota, including when police surrendered entire blocks in Minneapolis while rioters blocked and vandalized a hotel on Sunday.

After Good’s death, the administration sent nearly 1,000 additional immigration enforcement agents to ensure that ICE could carry out its operations safely. ICE arrested several criminal illegal aliens in Minnesota who were convicted of molestation, terroristic threats, drug possession and rape, according to a DHS press release from Jan. 20.