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Homan Suggests Possible MN Drawdown 01/30 06:16
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- The Trump administration could reduce the number of
immigration enforcement officers in Minnesota, but only if state and local
officials cooperate, the president's border czar said Thursday, noting he has
"zero tolerance" for protesters who assault federal officers or impede the
ongoing Twin Cities operation.
Tom Homan addressed reporters for the first time since the president sent
him to Minneapolis following last weekend's fatal shooting of protester Alex
Pretti, the second this month by federal officers carrying out the operation.
His comments came after President Donald Trump seemed to signal a willingness
to ease tensions in the Minneapolis and St. Paul area and as the administration
ended its "enhanced operations" in Maine.
Homan, who said he wouldn't address the shootings, emphasized that the
administration isn't relenting on its immigration crackdown and warned that
protesters could face consequences if they interfere with federal officers.
But he seemed to acknowledge there had been missteps.
"I do not want to hear that everything that's been done here has been
perfect. Nothing's ever perfect," he said.
A possible downsizing
Homan hinted at the prospect of pulling out many of the roughly 3,000
federal officers taking part in the operation, but he seemed to tie that to
cooperation from state and local leaders and a reduction in protester
interference.
"The drawdown is going to happen based on these agreements," he said. "But
the drawdown can happen even more if the hateful rhetoric and the impediment
and interference will stop."
He also said he would oversee internal changes in federal immigration law
enforcement, but he gave few specifics.
"The mission is going to improve because of the changes we're making
internally," he said. "No agency organization is perfect. And President Trump
and I, along with others in the administration, have recognized that certain
improvements could and should be made."
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey told reporters in Washington on Thursday he was
"hopeful" that the number of federal officers in the city would be reduced. He
said police would do their jobs but not "somebody else's," referring to federal
law enforcement.
Despite Trump softening his rhetoric about Minnesota officials -- he said
this week they were on a "similar wavelength" -- there has been no visible sign
of any big changes to the operation. On Thursday, as the Justice Department
charged a man accused of squirting vinegar on Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, a
smattering of protesters braved the frigid temperatures to demonstrate outside
of the federal facility that has been serving as the operation's main hub.
Pretti, 37, was fatally shot Saturday during a scuffle with the Border
Patrol. Earlier this month, 37-year-old Renee Good was shot in her vehicle by
an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.
A plea for cooperation
Homan doubled down on the need for jails 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.
The White House has long blamed problems arresting criminal immigrants on
so-called sanctuary jurisdictions, a term generally applied to state and local
governments that limit law enforcement cooperation with the Department of
Homeland Security.
Homan reiterated that, saying, "Give us access to illegal aliens, public
safety threats in the safety and security of a jail."
But Minnesota officials say this is already happening.
"At best, DHS fundamentally misunderstands Minnesota's correctional system,"
Paul Schnell, chief of the state Department of Corrections, told reporters last
week, pushing back against the federal narrative. "At worst, it is pure
propaganda."
State prisons, he noted, always honor "detainers," or federal requests to
hold an arrested immigrant until agents can take custody of them.
"This occurs every time without exception," he said, noting that "the vast
majority," of the state's county sheriffs also cooperate with immigration
authorities about immigrants in their jails.
Some do not, including the jails in Hennepin County, which serves
Minneapolis, and Ramsey County, which serves St. Paul. However, both do hand
over inmates to federal authorities if an arrest warrant has been signed by a
judge.
A targeted approach to arrests
Homan, whose arrival followed the departure of the Trump administration's
on-the-ground leader of the operation, Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino, also
seemed to suggest a renewed focus on what ICE calls "targeted operations"
focused on apprehending immigrants who have committed crimes. He said the
agency would conduct "targeted strategic enforcement operations" prioritizing
"public safety threats."
It remains to be seen whether ICE's renewed focus on "targeted operations"
might reduce tensions.
ICE and Homan have long said the Trump administration's primary focus is to
arrest people in the country illegally who have a criminal history or pose a
threat to public safety. But they acknowledge they'll also arrest anyone else
found to be in the U.S. illegally.
They argue that ICE operations target specific people, as opposed to
carrying out indiscriminate raids where officers round up everyone and demand
their papers.
Sameera Hafiz, policy director with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center,
said Homan's comments seemed to reflect a recognition that public opinion has
turned against ICE, but she questioned his argument that carrying out targeted
operations would make the country safer.
"His comments still seem to be based on the false premise that deporting
people or deportation will make our community safer," she said. "All the
evidence and data has shown that deportations don't make our communities safer.
They destabilize families, they tear communities apart, they hurt our economy."
Homan didn't give a specific timeline for how long he would stay in
Minnesota.
"I'm staying until the problem's gone," he said, adding that he has met with
community, law enforcement and elected leaders in the hopes of finding common
ground and suggested that he's made some progress.
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