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By Shane Croucher
Senior Editor
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White House border czar Tom Homan said Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison had clarified to him that county jails in the state can notify Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of the release dates of "criminal public safety risks" so they can be taken into custody immediately.
Homan, speaking in Minneapolis on Thursday morning, said the agreement is key to drawing down the number of federal immigration enforcement officers in Minnesota, a central demand of Democratic leaders in the state.
It takes far fewer officers to arrest someone at a jail when they are known to be unarmed, Homan said, rather than having to "send the whole team out" into the community because the individual has been released.
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And Homan said he had not asked Minnesota state and local officials to be involved in immigration enforcement, just for them "to be cops working with cops to help us take criminal aliens off the street."
Illegal immigrants who are deemed public safety risks or national security threats would be the priority targets for immigration enforcement, Homan said.
He was sent to the state by President Donald Trump to take control of ICE operations on the ground after weeks of disorder and chaos, including clashes with officers that have led to the deaths of two U.S. citizens.
Democratic leaders in Minnesota have fought to remove ICE from the state, saying its operation and harsh tactics are spreading fear among peaceful immigrant communities, and that most residents do not want the agents there.
At the press conference, Homan acknowledged that the operation so far had been flawed, saying that “no agency organization is perfect” and promising changes to make it “by the book.”
He said he was in Minnesota to find "solutions" by engaging with state and local leaders, including Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, both Democrats.
Homan, while holding firm that immigration enforcement operations must continue, struck a more constructive and diplomatic tone than Greg Bovino, the Border Patrol commander he was sent to replace.
Trump had said that he was seeking to "de-escalate" in Minnesota after weeks of unrest and bipartisan criticism of how the immigration operations were being handled.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has been under increasing pressure to resign over the situation in Minnesota, though the White House said Trump retains confidence in her leadership of the agency.
The backlash to the large-scale Minnesota surge has tested the limits of Trump's aggressive push for mass deportations, a flagship policy of his administration.
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