Tim Walz says ‘long road to recovery starts now’ after Trump border czar says Minnesota immigration surge will end – US politics live | US immigration
‘The long road to recovery starts now’, Walz says as immigration crackdown in Minnesota concludes
In another statement, Tim Walz said that the “long road to recovery starts now” for Minnesota as federal immigration enforcement operation ends in the state.
“The impact on our economy, our schools, and people’s lives won’t be reversed overnight. That work starts today,” Walz said.
Key events
Top immigration officials testify before senators on Capitol Hill
We’re keeping an eye on the Senate homeland security committee hearing with top federal immigration officials. Todd Lyons, acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); commissioner of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Rodney Scott; and Joseph Edlow, director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) are all addressing questions from lawmakers.
As Minnesota’s immigration crackdown winds down, the battle over Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding continues on Capitol Hill.
Congress has just two days to strike a deal or trigger another DHS shutdown when the current stopgap expires on Friday. Democrats have laid out several conditions for agreeing to a full‑year funding bill – including requiring judicial warrants for immigration raids and arrests, and ensuring officers are identifiable and not masked. Republicans have largely called those demands non-starters.
Senate majority leader John Thune is expected to push for another continuing resolution to keep the department open, but Democrats insist they won’t support another temporary fix. Thune would need at least seven of them to pass a short-term bill and restart negotiations, which remain stalled.
In Minneapolis, Tim Walz said he has been in touch with Democratic leaders Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer, urging them to “hold the line” until Congress secures what he called “the minimum reforms necessary in this rogue agency to get something done”.
The governor noted today that the change in tenor from the administration came after the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, when the immigration crackdown in the state turned into “an albatross” around the administration’s neck.
He also said that while he and Tom Homan disagreed on a number of matters, they were able to speak consistently throughout his time in the state– unlike when Gregory Bovino was the face of the operation. As a result, Walz said, he got “indications” that a drawdown was where federal immigration enforcement was headed.
“I’m certainly not going to spike the football, but you’re not going to hear me express any gratitude for the people who cause this unnecessary, unwarranted, and in many cases, unconstitutional assault on our state,” Walz added.
Walz added that he’s convinced the reason why Minnesota was targeted by the Trump administration was because it is a “successful, multiracial, multicultural state that has one of the highest standards of living”.
He added: “I’ll say it again, Minnesotans are decent, caring, loving neighbors, and they’re also some of the toughest damn people you’ll ever find.”
Walz says he is ‘cautiously optimistic’ after Homan announces end of immigration crackdown in Minnesota
Tim Walz told reporters that he is “cautiously optimistic” after the Trump administration announced the end of the immigration crackdown in Minnesota.
“The fact of the matter is, they left us with deep damage, generational trauma,” Walz added. “They left us with economic ruin. In some cases, they left us with many unanswered questions. Where are our children? Where and what is the process of the investigations into those that were responsible for the deaths of Renee [Good] and Alex [Pretti]?”
He noted the resolve that Minnesotans showed in the face of the surge of federal immigration officers throughout the state, and announced a loan program to help local businesses recover from the negative economic impact of Operation Metro Surge.
“Today is a very small first step, but it is a concrete step that that can make a difference,” Walz said.
‘The long road to recovery starts now’, Walz says as immigration crackdown in Minnesota concludes
In another statement, Tim Walz said that the “long road to recovery starts now” for Minnesota as federal immigration enforcement operation ends in the state.
“The impact on our economy, our schools, and people’s lives won’t be reversed overnight. That work starts today,” Walz said.
‘It’s time for a great comeback’: Minneapolis mayor heralds end of immigration crackdown
Jacob Frey, the mayor of Minneapolis, and a vocal opponent of the surge of federal immigration enforcement officers throughout the city, heralded the end of the surge today.
“This operation has been catastrophic for our neighbors and businesses, and now it’s time for a great comeback,” he said. “We will show the same commitment to our immigrant residents and endurance in this reopening, and I’m hopeful the whole country will stand with us as we move forward.”
Frey has consistently urged the drawdown of federal agents, particularly after the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
“They thought they could break us, but a love for our neighbors and a resolve to endure can outlast an occupation,” the mayor added in his statement. “These patriots of Minneapolis are showing that it’s not just about resistance – standing with our neighbors is deeply American.”
Minnesota governor Tim Walz, issued a short and simple statement in response to Tom Homan’s announcement that the federal immigration surge in Minnesota is ending.
“Thank you, Minnesota,” he wrote on social media.
Homan touts cooperation from Minnesota jails
During his press conference today, Tom Homan announced that cooperation from local law enforcement was a significant factor in the decision to conclude the surge of immigration officers in Minnesota.
“We now have the ability to arrest criminal aliens and the safety and security of jails throughout the state at the time they’re being released, like we’ve done in other states,” Homan said.
Access to county jails is one of the border czar’s long-standing goals. In Minnesota, each sheriff decides on their level of cooperation with federal immigration officials. However, jails are banned under state law from holding a detainee beyond their release date – known as an “ICE detainer”.
Today, Homan said that he has “not met one county jail that says ‘no’ to us”. However, he did not say whether the state’s two largest counties, Hennepin and Ramsey, have agreed to coordinate with ICE agents and make arrests at the time of release.
Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC) already works with ICE to transfer non-citizens in state prisons, who have completed felony sentences, to federal custody. Homan added that the administration is “moving further on our agreements for the state”.
Homan says that Minnesota surge in immigration crackdown is ending
Tom Homan just announced that given the “success that has been made arresting public safety threats” and the “unprecedented levels of coordination we have obtained from state officials and local law enforcement” the surge of federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota is concluding. He said that he proposed winding down the operation, and Donald Trump agreed.
Homan added that law enforcement officers drawing down from this operation will either return to their duty station or be assigned elsewhere across the country, as the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda continues. “A small footprint of personnel will remain for a period of time to close out, and transition full command and control back to the field office, as well as to ensure agitator activity continues to decline.”
The border czar said that there were more than 4,000 arrests throughout the Minnesota operation, but didn’t have the exact breakdown of those who were part of ICE’s targeted efforts to arrest undocumented criminals. This comes amid several examples of people caught in the immigration dragnet in the state who are either US citizens or living in country with legal status.
“We’ve had great success with this operation, and we’re leaving Minnesota safer,” Homan said.
