Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said Monday that “some federal agents” would leave the city, a decision that came after he spoke with President Donald Trump on the phone.
“I expressed how much Minneapolis has benefited from our immigrant communities and was clear that my main ask is that Operation Metro Surge needs to end,” Frey wrote in a statement on X. “The president agreed the present situation can’t continue.”
The removal of some federal officers is the latest of several high-profile changes made by Trump to the federal government’s aggressive immigration enforcement campaign in the Twin Cities area — and comes on the heels of a fatal shooting involving a Border Patrol agent Saturday that sparked widespread protests.
The president on Monday also said Border czar Tom Homan would take over leadership of the so-called “Operation Metro Surge,” and removed Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino from the city.
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It remains unclear how many federal agents will be pulled out of Minnesota, or when they will exit the state. Homan and Frey are scheduled to meet on Tuesday to discuss the ongoing operations, Trump said.
“Minneapolis will continue to cooperate with state and federal law enforcement on real criminal investigations — but we will not participate in unconstitutional arrests of our neighbors or enforce federal immigration law,” Frey wrote in his statement.
On Saturday, 37-year-old Veterans Affairs nurse Alex Pretti was shot and killed by a Border Patrol agent, sparking nationwide outrage. In the wake of the incident, captured by bystanders on camera, administration officials made claims that do not match up with video of the scene.
Trump said Monday that he shared a “very good telephone conversation” with Frey and that he “seemed to be on a similar wavelength” with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz following a separate conversation.
The weekend’s events have also appeared to derail funding talks on Capitol Hill. Many Senate Democrats said they will not approve further funding for the Department of Homeland Security until significant reforms have been made to the agency. They are asking to split the department’s funding from an appropriations bill that has already been passed by the House.
While some Republicans have spoken out about killing of Pretti, including his constitutional right to carry a gun, Republican leadership seems hesitant to separate DHS funding from the appropriations bills in question.
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