Trump's border czar suggests a possible drawdown in Minnesota but only after ‘cooperation’

U.S. President Donald Trump’s border czar Tom Homan said Thursday that the number of immigration enforcement officers in Minnesota will be reduced only after cooperation from state officials, and that he has “zero tolerance” for protesters who assault his officers or impede their work.

Homan addressed reporters for the first time since the president sent him to Minneapolis after a federal immigration officer fatally shot a protester on Saturday.

Homan doubled down on the need for local jails to alert Immigration and Customs Enforcement to people in their custody whom ICE can remove from the country, and that transferring immigrants to ICE while they’re still in jail is safer for the officers and means they aren’t out on the streets. Homan said that would mean fewer officers have to actually be out on the streets looking for immigrants in the country illegally.

“Give us access to illegal aliens, public safety threats in the safety and security of a jail,” Homan said.

Homan acknowledged that immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota haven’t been perfect but was also adamant that the administration isn’t surrendering their mission.

Homan also seemed to suggest a renewed focus on what ICE calls “targeted operations” designed to focus their efforts on apprehending immigrants who have committed crimes. He said they would conduct “targeted strategic enforcement operations” prioritizing “public safety threats.”

He said he has “zero tolerance” for those who assault or impede law enforcement, referring to the protesters who have flooded the city's streets as “agitators.”

Homan did not give a specific timeline for how long he would stay in Minnesota.

“I’m staying until the problem’s gone,” he said, adding that he has met elected officials and law enforcement leaders across the city and state, seeking to find common ground and suggested that he’s made some progress.

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Santana reported from Washington.