President Donald Trump’s Border Czar Tom Homan made one thing crystal clear about the ICE drawdown in Minneapolis: this is not a retreat — and it’s certainly not a victory lap for the anti-ICE crowd.
Yes, ICE is ending its surge posture in Minneapolis. No, enforcement is not stopping.
Homan shut down the narrative that federal authorities are somehow backing down. Scaling back a surge operation after objectives are met is called strategy — not surrender. The mission remains the same: enforce federal immigration law, remove criminal illegal aliens, and restore order where local leadership has failed to do so.
During a Thursday night television interview, Homan made it clear that agents can return at scale if necessary:
Minnesotans stood together, stared down ICE, and never blinked.
— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) February 12, 2026
.@RealTomHoman in Minnesota: "We're still going to have hundreds of special agents here drawing down on the fraud here from the Somali community… This is ending the surge, but we're not going away… If we need to come back, we'll come back." pic.twitter.com/tzSvrFP7Hd
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 13, 2026
“Even though we’re drawing down resources, we still want to have hundreds of special agents here drawn down on the fraud here from the Somali community and others. During those fraud investigations, until they’re done, we’re going to hold people responsible.”
That’s not a withdrawal — it’s a shift in posture.
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Hundreds of federal agents remain on the ground, still focused on fraud, criminal networks, and related investigations. Ongoing cases aren’t being shelved. Personnel haven’t packed up and left. The work continues.
What’s ending is the surge configuration — the temporary manpower spike designed to pressure local officials, force cooperation, and fast-track enforcement. That phase did its job.
Independent journalist Julio Rosas reported that the initiative in Minneapolis brought an increased federal presence to the area, aimed squarely at encouraging local officials to collaborate on criminal enforcement cases and ongoing fraud investigations. This boost in manpower was intended as a temporary measure, not a permanent setup.
As Rosas pointed out, once Minnesota authorities began to work more closely with federal investigators and key objectives were met, there was no longer a necessity to keep the surge-level staffing in place:
The surge was structured to force compliance on specific criminal enforcement priorities and accelerate ongoing fraud investigations. Once cooperation was secured and operational goals were met, federal authorities transitioned away from surge-level staffing while maintaining investigative personnel.
That transition is underway now. However, the broader message from Homan focused not on the past, but rather on the future:
“This is like any other surge operation. Los Angeles, it ended. Charlotte, it ended. New Orleans, it ended. This is ending the surge, but we’re not going away.”
While surges end, enforcement does not. Homan’s warning was clear: If ICE needs to return in force, that will happen.
