The White House's Customs and Border Protection chief, Tom Homan, said today that more than 1.000 immigration agents have left two cities in Minnesota and that hundreds more will leave in the coming days as part of President Donald Trump's administration's crackdown on immigration.
Homan said a "small" contingent of security forces will remain for a short time to protect the remaining immigration agents and will respond when immigration agents are in the field and are surrounded by agitators and things get out of control.
He did not specify what he meant by a "small" contingent.
Hogan also told CBS that agents will continue to investigate allegations of embezzlement, as well as a protest against the actions of anti-immigration agents that disrupted a service at a church.
"We've already pulled over 1.000 people and starting Monday and Tuesday we'll pull a few hundred more. We'll get back to the original number," Homan said.
Thousands of immigration agents have been deployed to the Minneapolis and St. Paul areas for a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation. The Department of Homeland Security said it was the largest anti-immigration operation ever and that it had proven successful. But the operation has faced increasing criticism as the situation has become increasingly volatile and when agents have killed two American citizens in separate incidents.
Protests intensified, and a citizen network worked to help immigrants, warn them of approaching agents, or film the actions of immigration agents. When federal agents shot and killed American citizens Renee Goode and Alex Pretty, it drew condemnation, raised questions about the agents' conduct, and prompted changes to the operation.
Homan announced last week that 700 federal agents would leave Minnesota immediately, but that meant that 2.000 more would remain in the state. He announced Thursday that a significant reduction in that force was underway and would continue through Sunday.
He said that enforcement operations will not stop in those two cities and that mass deportations will continue across the country. Agents leaving Minnesota will return to their centers or be reassigned elsewhere.
When asked whether future deployments of anti-immigration agents could be as extensive as the Minnesota operation, Homan said it "depends on the situation."
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