White House border czar Tom Homan arrived in Minneapolis on Monday to address the ongoing illegal immigration raids and anti-ICE protests, but did not appear publicly until Thursday morning, when he spoke at a press conference.
Homan, who has been in meetings with federal, state, and local officials since he touched down in the Twin Cities, made clear that he wasn’t there for “photo ops or headlines.”
President Donald Trump sent the former acting ICE chief to Minneapolis to replace Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, who was known for parading through the city flanked by fellow agents in a more aggressive show of force.
Homan indicated that he was there to clean up a mess.
“I’m not here because the federal government has carried out its mission perfectly,” Homan said.
“I come here looking for solutions. I do not want to hear that everything’s been done here has been perfect. Nothing’s ever perfect. Anything can be improved on. And what we’ve been working on is making this operation safer, more efficient, by the book. The mission is going to improve because of the changes we’re making internally. No agency organization is perfect,” Homan said.
“President Trump and I, along with others in the administration, have recognized that certain improvements could and should be made. That’s exactly what I’m doing here,” he said.
During his meetings with local officials, Homan has already made strides. Homan met with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, all of whom have been critical of the immigration raids.
Still, they were able to agree on some things, including a loose pledge from Ellison to allow ICE into county jails and a promise from police chiefs to respond to 911 calls when agents are under assault.
“I’ve heard many people want to know why we’re talking to people who they don’t consider friends of the administration. Bottom line is you can’t fix problems if you don’t have discussions,” Homan said. “What we did agree upon is not to release public safety arrests back in the community, and they could be lawfully transferred to ICE.”
If Ellison can deliver on his word, the federal presence in the state will decrease, Homan said.
“Attorney General Ellison, and he has clarified for me that county jails may notify ICE of the release dates of criminal public safety risks so ICE can take custody of them upon the release from the jail,” Homan said.
“More agents in the jail means less agents in the street. This is common sense cooperation that allows us to draw down on the number of people we have here. Yes, I said it, draw down the number of people here because we have the efficiency and safety of the jails and the prison,” he said.
Homan has opposed the strategy of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Bovino, whose focus has been on meeting quotas rather than expending federal resources on hunting down the worst criminal illegal immigrants roaming Minneapolis, Homeland Security sources recently told The Daily Wire.
That all looks to be changing with Homan’s arrival in the Twin Cities.
“All operations will be targeted, but the prioritization [is] going to be criminal aliens, public safety threats, and national security threats… we’ve got a lot of them to keep us busy… if you’re in the country illegally, you’re never off the table,” Homan said.
Homan also appeared to depart from Noem’s earlier messaging regarding Saturday’s fatal shooting of Alex Pretti. Hours after the shooting, Noem labeled Pretti a “domestic terrorist” who intended “to inflict maximum damage on individuals and to kill law enforcement.”
Unlike Noem, Homan made clear that he wouldn’t speak on the incident until the investigation concludes. He also noted that if any agents are not adhering to their “standards of conduct … they’ll be dealt with.”
“From day one, I said on any of these shootings as a career law enforcement officer, we’ll let … the investigation play out and let it go where it goes. I’m not going to come out making any comments I think is right, wrong. Do I have an opinion? Yeah, my personal opinion, but I’m not going to share that with you. I’m going to tell you, let the investigation play out and see where it goes.”
