BREAKING: Trump’s ‘Border Czar’ Tom Homan Announces End to ‘Operation Metro Surge’ in Minnesota

Tom Homan, the Trump administration’s “border czar,” announced Thursday that “Operation Metro Surge”—the intensive and highly controversial immigration enforcement crackdown in Minnesota—is officially coming to an end.

The announcement, which marks a significant shift in the administration’s domestic enforcement strategy, signals a drawdown of the federal resources that have flooded the Twin Cities and surrounding suburbs over the past several weeks.

“The surge has achieved its primary objectives in the region,” Homan said in a statement released Thursday morning. “While our mission to uphold the rule of law and secure the interior remains ongoing, the intensive phase of Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota is concluding. We are transitioning back to sustainable, localized enforcement levels.”

A Period of Unprecedented Enforcement

Operation Metro Surge was launched as part of a nationwide effort to target undocumented individuals with criminal records and those with final orders of removal. However, the operation in Minnesota drew national attention and intense local pushback due to its scale and the visible presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in residential neighborhoods.

According to reports from Axios Twin Cities, the operation led to a significant spike in arrests but also resulted in widespread fear throughout the state’s immigrant communities. Local officials in Minneapolis and St. Paul frequently clashed with federal authorities, arguing that the surge undermined public safety by eroding trust between immigrant residents and local police.

Mixed Reactions to the Drawdown

The news of the “retreat,” as characterized by The Guardian, was met with immediate reaction from both sides of the aisle.

Advocacy groups and civil rights organizations, who have spent weeks documenting ICE activities and providing legal aid to those detained, greeted the announcement with cautious relief. Many community leaders, however, warned that the “damage to the social fabric” of the Twin Cities would take years to repair.

Conversely, supporters of the administration’s policies viewed the operation as a necessary step in addressing illegal immigration. Reuters reported that Homan’s team considers the Minnesota surge a “template” for future short-term, high-intensity operations in other “sanctuary” jurisdictions across the country.

What’s Next for Minnesota?

While the “surge” of additional agents and resources is ending, Homan clarified that ICE will maintain its field office operations in the state. “This is not a cessation of enforcement,” Homan noted. “It is a transition from a surge to a steady state of operations.”

Local news outlet KARE 11 reported that a drawdown of personnel is already underway, with federal transport buses and additional agents expected to depart the region by the weekend.

As the federal presence recedes, Minnesota lawmakers are expected to face renewed pressure to address state-level protections for undocumented residents, even as the administration remains committed to its broader national deportation agenda.