The Trump Administration announced Wednesday it is reducing the number of immigration officers deployed to the “sanctuary city” of Minnesota after city officials finally agreed to cooperate with the federal government and hand over criminals who are already in custody.
Working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to honor “retainers” is something many cities do to keep cities safer by handing illegal aliens who have already been detained for criminal activity into federal custody, but “sanctuary cities”, including Minneapolis, were refusing to honor these agreements previously.
Border security expert Tom Homan who is overseeing President Donald Trump’s border security and deportation efforts, stated Wednesday that effective immediately around 700 officers — about a quarter of the total number deployed to Minnesota — will be leaving the state.
Homan made it clear that the Trump Administration’s goal is to be able to withdraw all agents from Minnesota, but that a total withdrawal is contingent on the cooperation of state leaders and city officials as well as protestors ending their interference with federal officers.
“My goal, with the support of President Trump, is to achieve a complete drawdown and end the surge as soon as we can, but that is largely contingent upon the end of illegal and threatening activities against ICE and its federal partners that we’re seeing in the community”, Homan stated. “Tone down the rhetoric, stop violating the law and impeding and interfering with us, and the drawdown will be quicker”, Homan added.
Homan made it clear that the drawdown in Minnesota will be based on locals complying with federal officers who are continuing to find and deport illegals and stated the Trump Administration is not abandoning its deportation promise.
“Let me be clear, President Trump fully intends to achieve mass deportations during this administration and immigration enforcement actions will continue every day in this country”, Homan stated.
Minneapolis became a hotbed for anti-ICE activism in early January after ICE and Homeland Security were sent to Minnesota to uncover a fraud ring which federal prosecutors estimate could top $9 billion dollars in misused taxpayer dollars. Agents were also targeting thousands of illegal aliens with criminal records in the city, including records for assault, drug trafficking and child abuse, according to DHS.
Border patrol and ICE Agents were met with unprecedented obstruction from local politicians and activists on the ground within weeks. After clashes between federal officers in Minneapolis and anti-ICE activists resulted in the tragic deaths of two individuals who were obstructing law enforcement, activists ramped up anti-ICE sentiment further.
Despite the vehement clashes in Minnesota after ICE officers entered the city to target and deport criminal illegals, the American people still broadly support President Donald Trump’s electoral promise to carry out deportation. Voters oppose the calls from activists to abolish ICE, and voters object — strongly — to efforts to interfere with or bully law enforcement while they are working.
A Feb. 2 survey of likely 2026 voters from Cygnal, an independent analytics firm, found in no uncertain terms the American people still strongly back President Trump on deportation.
According to the survey, a full 73 percent of voters say that entering the United States illegally is breaking the law, a slap in the face to activists claiming, “no person can be illegal”. According to nearly three-quarters of the American people, breaking the law and entering the country illegally is a crime and those who do so are criminals.
Voters also say by 27 points — 61 percent to 34 percent — that those who are here illegally should be deported.
The survey also shows over half of voters — 54 percent — want ICE to enforce federal immigration laws and remove illegal immigrants.
Close to 60 percent of Americans oppose the calls from radical activists to defund ICE, including majorities of independents and swing voters according to Cygnal.
Other national surveys have found strikingly similar results, with the majority of Americans supporting President Donald Trump’s approach to border security and deportation and opposing the obstruction of law enforcement.
The New York Times survey from Jan. 26 found that Americans approve of President Donald Trump’s handling of the border between the U.S. and Mexico by four points, 50 percent to 46 percent.
On deportation, the Times survey found Americans support the deportation of illegal immigrants by three points, 50 percent to 47 percent. This includes 42 percent of Hispanics and 30 percent of Blacks.
Independents support deportation of illegals by twelve points, 54 percent to 42 percent according to the Times. Republicans support deportation by 67 points, 83 percent to 16 percent. Only Democrats oppose deportation and they do so by 73 points, 85 percent to 12 percent.
A Jan. 24 survey from Politico also found 55 percent of all voters support deportation, including Trump’s deployment of ICE agents across the U.S. and say the actions are “about right”.
What is more, Americans strongly object to efforts to vilify law enforcement and obstruct ICE officers completing their jobs.
An Economist/YouGov survey from Jan. 26-28 found Americans object to a number of obstruction and bullying tactics activists have used to target ICE officers.
Voters object to activists forming barricades to prevent ICE agents from entering their communities by 15 points.
Voters also object to activists yelling at immigration agents by 15 points and object to activists making noise outside of hotels where immigration agents are staying by 23 points.
Voters object to activists calling immigration agents Nazis by 29 points, object to following the vehicles of immigration agents by 31 points, and object to throwing snowballs at the vehicles of immigration agents by 48 points.
All of these obstructing activities are related to real attempts activists have made to impede ICE officers from targeting and deporting illegal criminals, and the general population clearly opposes all of these behaviors.
President Donald Trump and border security lead Tom Homan are taking the right approach by using deal-making to compel Minnesota lawmakers to cooperate with the federal government to deport illegal criminals. The Trump Administration is also wise to continue delivering on the deportation promise it made the American people.
Despite every attempt by left-wing Democrats and activists to frame deportation as a great injustice, public opinion surveys show the American people largely support deportation, object strongly to activists tormenting ICE and interfering with its operations, and support President Trump on border security.
Manzanita Miller is the senior political analyst at Americans for Limited Government Foundation.
