President Donald Trump said Monday that he and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz have agreed to cooperate on a federal immigration enforcement surge in the Twin Cities, marking a shift from earlier tensions between the White House and the Democratic governor.
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In a social media post, Trump said Walz contacted him to request cooperation on federal operations in Minnesota. The president described the conversation as productive, saying the two leaders were largely aligned on how to proceed with the deployment of federal immigration agents.
Trump announced that he will send Tom Homan, the administration’s federal “border czar,” to Minnesota to oversee enforcement efforts. The president said the mission would focus on identifying and arresting individuals involved in criminal activity.
According to Trump, Walz understood the administration’s priorities and welcomed Homan’s involvement. Trump also pointed to what he described as successful federal operations in other cities, claiming crime has declined in areas where similar enforcement surges have taken place, including in Minnesota.
Walz’s office did not immediately release a full account of the call. Earlier this month, the governor had publicly criticized the administration following the deployment of thousands of federal agents to Minneapolis under “Operation Metro Surge,” an effort aimed at arresting undocumented immigrants with criminal records and assisting local law enforcement.
The cooperation comes amid ongoing controversy surrounding the federal presence in Minnesota. Legal challenges and protests have accompanied the operation, particularly after the Jan. 24 fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti by a U.S. Border Patrol agent during an enforcement-related confrontation in south Minneapolis, an incident that has intensified debate over the role of federal agents in the state.[/read]