Trump to pull 700 ICE agents out of Minnesota, immigration chief says after shootings backlash
Donald Trump will pull 700 ICE agents out of Minnesota after an agreement with state and local authorities, the White House has confirmed.
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White House border tsar Tom Homan told a press conference that there had been an "unprecedented collaboration," resulting in the need for fewer "public safety officers" on patrol.
Mr Homan, who oversees US immigration policies in the city after replacing Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino, said around 700 of the 3,000 agents deployed in Minnesota will be removed.
He also said on Wednesday that he believed the ICE operation had been a "success," but admitted it had not been a "perfect operation."
He told reporters: "Given this increase in unprecedented collaboration, and as a result of the need for less public safety officers to do this work and a safer environment, I am announcing, effective immediately, we'll draw down 700 people effective today - 700 law enforcement personnel."
The announcement was made amid ongoing protests being held following the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good.
Mr Pretti, an ICU nurse, was the second US citizen to be killed in Minneapolis in the last three weeks, following mother-of-three Ms Good, who was shot dead in January.
Mr Homan's comments came after President Trump seemed to signal a willingness to ease tensions in Minneapolis, vowing to "de-escalate a little bit."
The killings sparked mass protests in the city and led the President to remove Gregory Bovino, the face of his immigration enforcement operation, from the state, along with several agents.
Mr Homan also pushed for prisons to alert ICE to inmates who could be deported, saying transferring such inmates to the agency is safer because it means fewer officers have to be out looking for people in the country illegally.
When questioned, Mr Homan said he thought the ICE operation in Minnesota has been a success.
He said: "Yeah, I just listed a bunch of people we took off the streets of the Twin Cities, so I think it's very effective as far as public safety goes.
"Was it a perfect operation? No. No. We created one unified chain of command to make sure everybody is on the same page.
"And make sure we follow the rules. I don't think anybody purposely didn't do something they should have done."
Demonstrators have been taking to the streets in Minneapolis and other US cities, including Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Raleigh and Washington, DC, in a series of nonviolent protests called "ICE Out For Good."
The action, which has been coordinated by several activist groups, is demanding that ICE leave their cities and wants accountability from officers.