Tom Homan, Trump’s hardline border czar, has taken over as the administration’s point person for the controversial immigration operations in Minneapolis, replacing the official who oversaw two fatal shootings that have inflamed tensions across Minnesota.
The leadership change comes amid growing criticism of “Operation Metro Surge,” which has deployed more than 3,000 federal agents to the state in what the White House describes as a crackdown on illegal immigration and alleged charity fraud within the Somali diaspora community.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz met with Homan Monday morning to outline the state’s demands, including “impartial investigations into the Minneapolis shootings involving federal agents, a swift, significant reduction in the number of federal forces in Minnesota, and an end to the campaign of retribution against Minnesota,” his office confirmed.
Leadership Shakeup
Gregory Bovino, the Border Patrol commander who had been leading the operation, has been demoted and reassigned to California where he will return to “leading the implementation of the Trump Administration’s immigration policy,” sources revealed. The move follows intense scrutiny after federal agents killed two people during enforcement actions.
Homan, a controversial figure who pioneered family separation policies during Trump’s first administration, will now manage ICE operations in Minnesota and coordinate investigations into alleged charity fraud. White House officials stated that Homan “will be managing ICE operations on the ground in Minnesota to continue arresting the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens.”
But the operation faces mounting legal challenges. A Minnesota judge has ordered the acting ICE director to appear in court Friday, finding that the administration failed to comply with orders to hold hearings for detained immigrants. In a scathing rebuke, the court noted: “This Court has been extremely patient with respondents, even though respondents decided to send thousands of agents to Minnesota to detain aliens without making any provision for dealing with the hundreds of habeas petitions and other lawsuits that were sure to result.”
Rising Tensions
Since the operation began, there have been three shootings involving federal agents in Minneapolis, two resulting in fatalities. The deaths have sparked protests across the city and intensified calls for federal forces to withdraw.
Former President Biden broke his typical silence on the current administration’s actions with a pointed statement: “What has unfolded in Minneapolis this past month betrays our most basic values as Americans. We are not a nation that guns down our citizens in the street,” he declared.
How is the White House responding? President Trump has indicated he’s monitoring the investigation into one victim’s death, saying, “I want to see the investigation. I’m going to be watching over it. And I want a very honorable and honest investigation. I have to see it myself,” according to White House transcripts.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has drawn a line in the sand, pledging that the city “will continue to cooperate with state and federal law enforcement on real criminal investigations — but we will not participate in unconstitutional arrests of our neighbors,” his office announced Tuesday.
Controversial Choice
Homan’s appointment signals the administration is doubling down on its aggressive approach despite the backlash. As acting ICE director during Trump’s first term, he was the architect behind some of the administration’s most contentious immigration policies.
“He pioneered the use of family separations to deter immigration and helped implement that policy as acting ICE director in the first Trump administration,” immigration policy experts explained.
With more than 3,000 federal agents now stationed in Minnesota — including approximately 2,000 ICE agents and 1,000 Border Patrol agents — the standoff between state and federal authorities shows no signs of de-escalation, even as Homan takes the reins of an operation that has already left two Minnesotans dead and a community in turmoil.
