Border czar Tom Homan said in an update Wednesday morning that 700 federal agents would be leaving Minnesota "effective immediately," due to an "unprecedented" level of cooperation between counties and immigration enforcement officials,
CBS News reports.
Homan said he's been in talks with counties that have agreed to let Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents take custody of migrants in the country illegally straight from their jails. Instead of deploying teams to arrest someone who was released, Homan said that agreement would allow a single agent to pick up a target directly.
The White House said agents have arrested 4,000 "criminal illegal aliens" since Operation Metro Surge began. Homan says agents detained 14 people with homicide convictions, 139 with assault convictions, 87 who have committed sex offenses, and 28 gang members.
Homan also said that in the past month, agents have arrested 158 people for interfering with federal officers.
The 700 agents represents a mix of ICE and Border Patrol agents. With the removal, roughly 2,000 federal agents remain as part of Operation Metro Surge. Homan said typically there are 150 agents on the ground in Minnesota.
"We've never had this kind of cooperation at this level," Homan said, referencing talks with Gov. Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison and sheriffs from around the state.
