Mr. Trump sent a border boss to Minnesota to manage ICE

“Tom is tough but fair and will report directly to me,” US President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social on January 26, announcing the transfer of immigration policy advisor Tom Homan to Minnesota to manage field operations of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) here.

President Trump added that “border boss” Homan “knows and loves” many people in Minnesota, where thousands of federal agents have been deployed in recent weeks to carry out the largest illegal immigration raid program ever.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also confirmed that Mr. Homan will manage ICE operations in Minnesota “to continue to apprehend illegal immigrants who commit dangerous crimes.”

The decision to send Mr. Homan to Minnesota was made while Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and many administration officials were facing increasing criticism about their leadership and statements in the city of Minneapolis in this state after repeated cases of federal agents shooting people to death.

Fox News on January 25 reported that some senior officials involved in immigration enforcement were “increasingly uneasy and frustrated with some of the statements made by the Department of Homeland Security” following the shooting death of Alex Pretti, 37, in Minneapolis by a Border Patrol officer.

Secretary Noem said that the decision to transfer Mr. Homan to Minnesota is “good news for peace, security and responsibility in Minneapolis.” Ms. Noem also called on Minnesota leaders to cooperate in the task of ensuring public safety.

Minneapolis this month had two deadly shootings involving agents conducting immigration raids. The first incident occurred on January 7 when ICE agents shot and killed Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old American citizen, during an encounter in a residential area south of Minneapolis. The shooting that caused Pretti’s death was the second incident, occurring on January 24.