Tom Homan announces ICE agent drawdown in Minnesota after violent protests and fatal shootings

TLDR:

• Border czar Tom Homan announces federal agent “drawdown” in Minnesota after violent protests and two civilian deaths during immigration enforcement
• Federal prosecutors charge 16 people with violently assaulting federal officers amid increasingly dangerous confrontations
• Homan secured cooperation agreements with state and local officials to turn over deportation targets from jails, reducing need for community arrests
• Leadership shakeup removes Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino, criticized for harsh crowd control tactics

White House border czar Tom Homan announced Thursday he is working on a “drawdown” plan to reduce the federal presence in Minnesota, where the nation’s largest state immigration operation has sparked violent protests and left two civilians dead.

The pullback comes as federal prosecutors charged 16 people Thursday with “violently assaulting” federal officers or property during increasingly dangerous confrontations between protesters and the 3,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection personnel deployed to the state.

Mr. Homan, who took control of the operation this week, acknowledged the mission has not “been perfect” and said he secured cooperation agreements with state and local leaders to turn over deportation targets from jails.

“This is common-sense cooperation that allows us to draw down on the number of people we have here. Yes, I said it, draw down the number of people we have here,” Mr. Homan said.

The drawdown follows last weekend’s fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by Border Patrol agents and the earlier death of Renee Good, who was shot after lurching her SUV toward an ICE officer.

Mr. Homan warned protesters that threats against federal personnel will not be ignored and called on state leaders to demand calm.

Read more:

• White House working on ’drawdown’ plan for ICE in Minnesota