DHS announces the end of its ‘surge operation’ in Minneapolis, but not entirely

The government’s siege of the Twin Cities is reportedly coming to an end. “I have proposed, and President Trump has concurred, that this surge operation conclude,” border czar Tom Homan announced Thursday.

This isn’t the first time Department of Homeland Security officials have claimed that Operation Metro Surge, its massive campaign in Minnesota, was slowing down or ending altogether. Homan teased a “drawdown” in late January, and a few days later, President Donald Trump said he had ordered the withdrawal of 700 agents from the state. But an estimated 2,000 agents remained, and residents reported that raids continued.

Even by Homan’s own admission, it’s still not over. “A small footprint of personnel will remain for a period of time to close out and transition full command and control back to the field office,” Homan said. “I will also remain on the ground for a little longer to oversee the drawdown of this operation and ensure its success.”

In a separate press conference following Homan’s, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said he was “cautiously optimistic,” and that he has been in contact with federal leadership about how the federal government “needs to pay for what they broke here,” particularly in its effect on immigrant communities and small businesses. “They left us with deep damage, generational trauma, economic ruin. They left us with many unanswered questions. Where are our children? Where and what is the process of investigations into those who were responsible for the deaths of Renee and Alex?” said Walz.

There are typically 150 federal immigration officers in Minnesota, according to MPR News. Their presence increased twenty-fold under Metro Surge, an operation that began after a right-wing vlogger’s allegations of widespread fraud at daycares operated by Minneapolis’s Somali American community.

A robust mutual aid network emerged in response to ICE’s operation in the Twin Cities. In addition to collecting groceries and crowdfunding rent for immigrant families, Minnesotans have formed ICE patrols in their neighborhoods. Two observers, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were killed by federal immigration agents in January, sparking mass protests throughout the Twin Cities.

Administration officials had previously said that the operation would end once state and local officials sufficiently collaborated with ICE. It’s not immediately clear what concessions, if any, the federal government has obtained from Gov. Tim Walz or Minneapolis Mayor Tim Frey.

Update, February 12th: Added comments from Gov. Walz.