AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Two months after immigration agents descended on Minnesota, President Trump's border czar now says they are leaving. Tom Homan said today that a significant drawdown is underway and will continue into next week. And the state's Democratic governor says that he wants the federal government to pay for the damage it caused. Minnesota Public Radio's Matt Sepic is in Minneapolis and joins us now. Hi, Matt.
MATT SEPIC, BYLINE: Hi, Ailsa.
CHANG: OK. So how does the administration explain why it's ending the immigration enforcement operation now?
SEPIC: At a news conference here this morning, Tom Homan said that the Department of Homeland Security, DHS, had accomplished its goal of removing, quote, "criminal aliens" from Minnesota who pose public safety risks.
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TOM HOMAN: I'm very pleased to report that this surge operation and our work here with state and local officials to improve coordination and achieve mutual goals, as well as our efforts to address issues of concern here on the ground, have yielded the successful results we came here for.
SEPIC: Now, DHS started the operation in December and later sent what it said were 3,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agents to Minnesota. And to put that in perspective, that's five times the number of officers in the Minneapolis Police Department. Last week, Homan announced an initial drawdown of 700 agents. He said today that President Trump agreed that it was time to end the search.
CHANG: And I understand that Homan said something like 4,000 people in Minnesota were arrested - right? - for alleged immigration violations. Is there any way to verify that number?
SEPIC: There's really not. Administration officials have thrown around a lot of large figures. For example, in a January 19 statement, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said that agents had arrested, quote, "over 10,000 criminal illegal aliens who were reigning terror in Minneapolis." We know from court cases that many of these arrests were likely unlawful. When we talked yesterday, I mentioned a class action suit from refugees living in Minnesota with legal status who allege that federal agents arrested and detained them without probable cause.
CHANG: So tell us more about how officials in Minnesota are reacting to the end of this whole operation.
SEPIC: Governor Tim Walz says he is cautiously optimistic that Trump will keep his word. The Democratic governor says Homan personally assured him that agents are leaving immediately.
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TIM WALZ: We will help you get to the airport. We will clear the roads to get you to the airport. I will come over and pack your damn bags, if that's what it takes.
SEPIC: Now, Walz says the operation caused an economic crisis here, similar to COVID, and left the state with generational trauma. The governor says the feds need to pay for what they broke. But for now, he's urging state lawmakers to approve an aid package for small businesses.
CHANG: And I know that you've been talking to immigrants and their advocates. What are they telling you about how they're reacting to all this?
SEPIC: Erika Zurawski is with the Minnesota Immigrants Rights Action Committee. She says state and local leaders did not do enough to fight against the Trump administration.
ERIKA ZURAWSKI: What needed to be done was not our leaders caving to racist immigration policies. What needed to be done was our leaders standing up on behalf of our community members.
CHANG: But is anything really changing with the way state and local police are interacting with federal immigration authorities at this point?
SEPIC: Homan heralded a new era of cooperation, but Walz said nothing has changed, and he continues to support, quote, "humane rule of law immigration reform." He also renewed his call for the FBI to include state police into the investigations into the killings by federal agents of Renee Macklin Good and Alex Pretti.
CHANG: That is Matt Sepic of Minnesota Public Radio. Thank you again, Matt.
SEPIC: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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