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Protesters say 700 federal agents leaving is not enough
About 700 federal immigration agents are set to leave Minnesota, but some activists are saying that is not enough. FOX 9's Leon Purvis has more.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The Trump administration is pulling 700 federal agents from Minnesota, leaving about 2,000 still in the state.
Federal agent reduction in Minnesota
What we know:
The reduction follows an announcement by U.S. Border Czar Tom Homan, who said the immigration target list is shrinking. Homan noted significant progress in collaboration with state and local officials, with many state prisons and county jails working with federal authorities.
"Now we have one agent at that jail picking that person up. That and the operation has been successful in a number of arrests. So the target list is reducing. So with the efficiencies of the jails, with the efficiencies of the prison system working with us and the target list decreasing, we had a whole team looking at what makes sense without risking officer safety and security teams," said Homan.
Despite the reduction, demonstrators remain vocal in their demand for ICE to leave Minnesota entirely. Protesters gathered outside the Whipple Building, expressing dissatisfaction with the partial withdrawal.
Local perspective:
"I think that if there were none, it would be a step in the right direction," said a protester. Kevin Bruins from St. Paul added, "I think it seems like a superficial gesture; there’s still what? 2000ish that are in the Twin Cities."
"I think that if there were none, it would be a step in the right direction, but I think right now it’s just an appeasement measure to try and make us feel a little bit secure, so we let down our guard and stop protecting our community," said a demonstrator.
Homan mentioned the administration aims to reduce the ICE presence in Minnesota back to pre-surge levels of around 80 officers, but no timeline was provided for this reduction.