In January, the Department of Homeland Security increased its activity in Minneapolis, Minnesota, following the accusations of Somali fraud in the state. This increase in agents around the city has led to the death of two protesters, Rene Good and Alex Pretti, killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Having received much backlash from Republican and Democratic leadership in both chambers of Congress, the Trump administration has pulled out many agents and replaced Dan Bonvino’s command of “Operation Metro Surge” with border czar Tom Homan.
On Jan. 29, Homan conducted a news conference with the Department of Homeland Security acknowledging the flaws in the conduct in Minnesota.
“I’m not here because the federal [government] has carried its mission out perfectly,” Homan said. “What we’ve been working on is making this operation safer, more efficient.”
This marks a significant shift in rhetoric from the Trump administration following the two killings. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called Rene Good a “domestic terrorist.” Similarly, Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, said after the killing of Alex Pretti, he was “an assassin” who wanted to “massacre” federal agents.
Homan plans to make the operations more targeted and “by the book,” hoping to gain cooperation with state prisons to extract targets and thus require fewer agents on the streets. He also plans to end the much-criticized street sweeps that Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been conducting and go after targets in a more efficient manner, stirring less chaos. Immigration and Customs Enforcement high-ranking officials have also released a memo instructing officers not to engage in protests unless necessary.
In response to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions, students across the country took a stand. On Jan. 30, students from around the country gathered together. On Jan. 30 in San Francisco, students walked from their schools to Delores Park. Graham Johnston Woods, a senior at Stuart Hall High School, was one of the students who took part in the protest from Convent and Stuart Hall. “I believe it’s important for our community to use the voice we have to show the current administration that we do not support the inhumane actions being taken against members of our communities, including undocumented people with no criminal background,” said Woods. “At this point, it’s no longer just about politics; it’s about morals and the country you want to live in the future.”
In addition to this, famous rock star Bruce Springsteen released a song called “Streets of Minneapolis,” which made No. 1 on the Digital Song Sales and at the end of the week of Jan. 29, sold over 16,000 downloads according to Billboard.
“I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday, and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis,” wrote Springsteen on an announcement Instagram post.
On Feb. 12, facing mounting pressure from a Department of Homeland Security shutdown in Washington and bad press, Homan announced the end of Operation Metro Surge and that the number of agents would return to “normal levels,” being about 100 agents. Homan cited the reason for the drop in agents is due to an “unprecedented level of coordination” with local law enforcement agencies, which had already been working with immigration authorities, according to Gov. Tim Walz.
“The fact of the matter is they left us with deep damage, generational trauma,” Walz said. “They left us with economic ruin. In some cases, they left us with many unanswered questions. Where are our children? Where and what is the process of the investigations into those who were responsible for the deaths of Renee [Good] and Alex [Pretti]?”