Trump's 'border czar' announces the end of ICE's massive operation in Minnesota

WashingtonThe massive anti-immigration operation that has plagued Minnesota since December and resulted in the deaths of two US citizens is coming to an end, authorities announced Thursday. border czarThomas Homan. "I proposed it, and President Trump agreed, that this operation be brought to an end," the official said at a press conference in Minneapolis. "As a result of our efforts, Minnesota is no longer so much a sanctuary state for criminals," Homan stated. The "efforts" in question involved more than two months of massive raids in the Twin Cities—Minneapolis and Saint Paul—that resulted in 4,000 arrests, a campaign of terror against residents, and the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti at the hands of immigration agents. Good was recording ICE agents conducting a traffic stop to detain people when one of the agents opened fire on her as she maneuvered her car to leave. Pretti was shot and killed while a group of federal agents pinned him to the ground during one of the massive protests in the city.

Homan has not given details of how this withdrawal will take place. There are still about 2,000 anti-immigration agents in the city, after about 700 were withdrawn last week. At its peak deployment, there were as many as 3,000 ICE and Border Patrol agents. Despite the insecurity and terror unleashed in Minneapolis, the border czar He defended the operation as a way to make the city "safer." "I'll say it again: it's less of a sanctuary state for criminals," he said. Of the 4,000 detainees Homan cites, the actual percentage of criminals is still unknown, but according to a CBS review, of the 400,000 people arrested by ICE this year, only 14% had criminal records.

The easing of restrictions in Minnesota follows the wave of nationwide outrage over the murders of Pretti and Good, as well as the images of police brutality that have gone viral. Little Liam Ramos, the five-year-old boy arrested by ICE, has become another symbol of what this operation, which claimed to be aimed at arresting criminals, has truly represented. Ramos and his father, who was also arrested, ended up in a detention center in Texas. Last week, after their case reached Congress, they were released and returned to Minneapolis. Father and son were detained even though they had an open asylum application and had entered the country through a port of entry. Asylum processes typically take years; while the case is being processed, people can remain in the country thanks to a protective order against deportation.