ICE agents at the scene of the shooting. (Photo/WikiCommons)

Breaking News. Border official Tom Homan said Wednesday that the Trump administration’s Department of Homeland Security will cut the number of federal immigration officers operating in Minneapolis by nearly 20%, signaling a shift in its enforcement strategy in the Twin Cities.

Speaking at a news conference in Minneapolis, Homan said increased cooperation between local law enforcement and Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection has reduced the need for federal officers on the ground. As a result, he said the administration will withdraw about 700 officers from the city as it moves to wind down the operation.

The announcement comes in the wake of mass protests over the killing of two American citizens — Renée Good and Alex Pretti — on the streets of Minneapolis.

Prior to the killing of Good on Jan. 7, 2026, federal authorities had deployed roughly 3,000 immigration enforcement officers, including ICE and other Department of Homeland Security personnel, in and around the Twin Cities as part of a large-scale operation that officials called the largest ever carried out.

Even with the withdrawal of the 700 officers announced Wednesday, about 2,300 federal agents remain in Minnesota — roughly 300 more than were in place before Jan. 7.

The Twin Cities area is home to about 35,000 Native Americans, one of the largest concentrations of urban Native Americans in the United States.

Levi "Calm Before the Storm" Rickert (Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation) is the founder, publisher and editor of Native News Online. Rickert was awarded Best Column 2021 Native Media Award for the print/online...