700 immigrations agents to leave Minnesota today, Trump’s ‘border tsar’ says

We have just heard from President Trump’s “border tsar” Tom Homan on the status of Operation Metro Surge, a large scale immigration law enforcement operation in Minneapolis.

Here’s what we heard:

• Homan says the Trump administration will withdraw 700 immigration officers from Minnesota effective immediately
• He says the officers will come from a combination of agencies including ICE and Border Patrol, but says officers providing security to colleagues in the field will not be part of the draw down
• Homan says the reduction in force follows “unprecedented” co-operation from local and state officials on transferring immigrants with criminal convictions to federal immigration custody and subsequent deportation
• While the focus will be those with criminal convictions, anyone in the country illegally is “not off the table” from immigration enforcement, he says
• The plan is to get back to the usual number of officers in Minneapolis before the surge which began in December, he says, but adds it depends on local co-operation and whether they can carry out their work unimpeded
• The draw down will still leave behind about 2,000 officers, he says
• A “gap” in the use of body-worn cameras has been identified and some officers did not have them, he says, adding action has been taken to ensure full body-camera deployment
• Homan defended the operation so far, saying it has been largely successful while conceding it has not been perfect

• Homan is asked how much work is left to be done in the state and how long he anticipates it would take.

  He repeats that the administration wants to get back to its usual number of officers but says that would depend on how the community responds to the ongoing immigration enforcement operation.

  He says if people stopped what he calls rhetoric and hate towards immigration officers, they could wind down faster.

  The news conference has now come to an end – we’ll bring you a recap