The Trump Administration reduces the presence of its federal agents in Minnesota. This was announced this Wednesday by the US President’s border czar, Tom Homan, during an appearance before the press from Minneapolis. The announcement comes after the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, which generated a strong wave of protest and outrage in the state, prompting the White House to modify its policy.
Thus, according to Homan, some 700 federal agents will be removed “immediately” from immigration operations in Minnesota.
Currently, there are approximately 3,000 federal agents deployed in the state. According to Homan, the widespread withdrawal will only occur when “people stop interfering” with federal agents making arrests, adding that about 2,000 agents will remain in the state after this week’s reduction in staff. He also said that the presence of immigration agents in Minnesota before the massive deployment was about 150. He also added that, in addition, there are “special immigration agents working on the fraud investigation who will not go anywhere until they have finished their work.”
“Given this unprecedented collaboration and as a result of the need for fewer public safety officers to perform this work and a safer environment, I announce that, effective immediately, we will reduce staff by 700 officers starting today,” Homan said during the press conference.
According to Homan, “significant progress has been made working with state and local officials in Minnesota. We now have a record number of counties contacting us and allowing ICE to take undocumented immigrants into custody before they hit the streets. Unprecedented cooperation. And I say it again, this is efficient. It only takes one or two officers to take an undocumented immigrant with a criminal record into custody, rather than eight or ten officers having to go out into the community to arrest this one.” person who represents a threat to public safety. This allows more agents to dedicate themselves to arresting and deporting undocumented immigrants with criminal records.”
“More officers targeting immigrants with criminal records directly from jails means there will be fewer officers on the street conducting crime operations,” continued Trump’s immigration enforcement officer in Minnesota: “This is smart law enforcement, not a reduction. This coordination also increases security in the Twin Cities [Minneapolis y St. Paul]by detaining people who pose a threat to public safety and by ensuring prison security.”
“The state prisons are already cooperating with ICE in this coordinated custody transfer, and we thank them for this collaboration, and we plan to continue working with them,” Homan said: “We are not asking any state or local officials to perform immigration enforcement activities. They are not doing it by notifying us before their release. They are not holding them one minute longer than they normally would.”
Trump’s envoy to Minneapolis has once again attacked people protesting against immigration repression, to the point of blaming the protest for the murders of Good and Pretti: “I have been saying this for almost a year. The hateful rhetoric, the extremist rhetoric against ICE personnel is completely unacceptable. Please stop. I said it in March of this year. The hateful rhetoric does not stop. I feared there would be bloodshed. And there has been. The President Trump, Secretary [Kristi] Noem and I, neither of us want to see bloodshed. This is undoubtedly encouraging and inciting certain people to break the law. Wanting to harm and actually harm law enforcement, law enforcement officers and their families is unacceptable.”
In this sense, Homan has called for collaboration from local and state authorities: “I urge the governor, the attorney general, the mayor and other political leaders to, in the most energetic and urgent manner, call for calm in the community to end resistance, obstruction and interference. Again: protest, but stop obstructing, stop interfering, stop violating the law, because we will arrest you.”
“President Trump sent me here,” Homan said: “I didn’t ask to come. President Trump sent me here to help de-escalate. We’re not going to give up on our mission. We’re not going to give up on our mission. We’re just making it more effective and smarter. Smarter law enforcement ensures greater security. We’re not going to give up on the president’s mission of carrying out a mass deportation operation: if you’re in the country illegally and we find you, we’ll deport you. But this is a targeted enforcement operation, and that “That’s what we’re going to do.”
Source: www.eldiario.es
