Border czar Tom Homan says there may be a reduction of immigration enforcement in Minnesota, but only if there is “cooperation” from state leaders.
He spoke on Thursday for the first time after being sent by President Donald Trump to the state after the deadly shooting of Alex Pretti on Saturday, The Associated Press reported.
He said that he wants the “hostile rhetoric and dangerous threats and hate” against ICE officers to stop and that the increase of it has forced the administration to send more agents into the area, CNN reported.
“I begged for the last two months on TV for the rhetoric to stop. I said in March, if the rhetoric didn’t stop, there’s going to be bloodshed, and there has been. I wish I wasn’t right,” he said.
But Homan said he is working on a drawdown plan for ICE enforcement in the state. He stood firm, however, that he will be “staying ‘til the problem’s gone.”
Homan said that local jails need to inform Immigration and Customs Enforcement when people who are in custody and could be removed from the U.S., which would mean fewer ICE officers on patrol.
He also said that the ICE enforcement was not perfect, but that the administration is not backing down. Instead, it will be undergoing “targeted operations” looking for immigrants who have committed crimes, the AP reported.
Homan said the agency will be doing “targeted strategic enforcement operations’ that focus on “public safety threats.”
As for the shooting death of Pretti and earlier, Renee Good, by federal agents, he would not comment specifically on the cases, CNN reported.
“From day one, I said on any of these shootings, as a career law enforcement officer, we’ll let for the — we’ll let investigation roll out, let the investigation play out, and let it go where it goes,” Homan said. “I’m not going to come out and make any comments.”
Pretti was shot and killed after being taken down by officers trying to subdue him. An officer saw a gun that Pretti was licensed to carry. Two officers shot at him, killing him. The shooting was caught on several videos, the AP reported.
His death came 11 days after he was in a scuffle with federal officers in which he shouted at them and kicked their vehicle’s taillight, the AP reported.
Good was killed by an ICE agent when he shot into her vehicle as she tried to leave the scene after she had stopped to support protesters and ICE agents surrounded her vehicle, telling her to open the door. She pulled forward, and one agent pulled his weapon and fired, hitting her, the AP reported.
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