The U.S. Border Agency announced the end of a federal operation in which 700 immigration agents are scheduled to depart from Minnesota.
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Published February 12, 2026
U.S. Border Patrol Chief Tom Homan said the immigration crackdown in Minnesota that resulted in mass detentions, protests and two deaths is coming to an end.
“As a result of our efforts here, Minnesota is no longer a haven for criminals,” Homan said at a news conference Thursday.
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“I proposed, and President Trump agreed, to end this surge operation,” he continued.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) launched Operation Metro Surge on December 1st. Homan added that ICE operations will continue as they were before the operation began.
“Through targeted enforcement operations based on reasonable suspicion, prioritizing safety and security, ICE will continue to identify, apprehend, and remove illegal aliens who pose a risk to public safety, as we have done for years.”
Federal authorities said more than 4,000 people were arrested in the sweep, which centered on the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. The Trump administration has referred to those arrested as “dangerous criminal illegal aliens,” but many people with no criminal records are also being detained, including children and U.S. citizens.
Democratic Gov. Tim Walz said Tuesday that he expects Operation Metro Surge to be over in “days, not weeks or months,” based on conversations with Trump administration officials. He told reporters he spoke with both Homan and the president’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, this week.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey also said he had a “positive meeting” with Homan on Monday to discuss the possibility of further cuts to the federal workforce.
Homan took over the Minnesota operation in late January amid growing political backlash and questions about how the operation was run after a second shooting by federal immigration agents.
“We are in very high confidence but verification mode,” Walz said, adding that he expected to hear more details from the administration in the “next day or so” about the future of what he described as an “occupation” and “retaliatory campaign” against the country.
Department of Homeland Security officials did not respond to requests for comment on the governor’s remarks.
Walz said there is no reason to disbelieve Homan’s statement last week that 700 federal employees would leave Minnesota immediately, but added the governor still has 2,300 people left on Minnesota streets.
At the time, Homan cited an “unprecedented increase in collaboration” that would reduce the need for federal agents in Minnesota, including assistance from prisons that house deportable inmates.
