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Under the new arrangement, counties notify ICE prior to releasing an inmate with an immigration detainer. ICE then sends one or two agents to pick up the individual directly from jail. The state prison system had already been operating this way, but county facilities were the main obstacle until now.
Homan explained that this single change eliminates the need for large arrest teams in public spaces, reducing risk to officers and civilians alike.
The Trump administration argues that Minnesota’s previous refusal to cooperate directly led to tragedy.
German Llangari Inga killed Victoria Eileen Harwell in August 2024 while driving drunk. His blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit. ICE issued a detainer immediately, but Hennepin County released him without notifying federal authorities.
After being arrested again in May 2025 on a warrant for vehicular homicide, ICE issued another detainer. Once again, the county released him without warning.
Federal agents eventually arrested him, but only after he had been released twice. That scenario was not isolated. According to federal data, similar releases happened nearly 470 times in Minnesota since President Donald Trump returned to office.
Homan laid out the numbers that finally broke through political resistance.
One agent can safely take custody of a criminal inside a jail. But when counties release that same individual into the community, ICE must deploy eight to ten officers, plus additional security and surveillance teams, especially amid organized activist interference.
“What should take one person now requires 15 or 16 people,” Homan explained.
Federal officials emphasized they are not asking counties to hold inmates longer or enforce immigration law themselves. They are simply asking officials to “pick up the phone and make a call.”
With counties now cooperating, ICE no longer needs a massive federal presence in Minnesota. As a result, 700 agents are being reassigned to other parts of the country to support Trump’s broader mass deportation initiative.
Homan said the goal is a “complete drawdown” of federal agents once all counties fully comply.
Minnesota’s refusal to work with ICE coincided with escalating unrest.
Two fatal confrontations involving federal agents occurred in January. One involved Renée Good. Another involved Alex Pretti, a 37 year old ICU nurse.
Trump administration officials labeled Pretti a “domestic terrorist” who “tried to murder federal agents.” His father described him as “a kind-hearted soul” whose “last thought and act was to protect a woman.”
Despite protests, boycotts, lawsuits, school lockdowns, business shutdowns, and a general strike across the Twin Cities, county jails continued releasing criminals without notifying ICE.
More than 60 Minnesota CEOs publicly demanded de escalation. Revenue reportedly dropped 50 to 80 percent for some businesses. Schools closed. Streets shut down. Federal courts later found ICE violated at least 96 court orders since January 1.
After the second fatal shooting, Homan replaced Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino, signaling a more diplomatic approach without abandoning Trump’s enforcement goals.
Homan met directly with Governor Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.
Homan said he will remain in Minnesota until “the problem’s gone.”
Federal officials argue the devastation was entirely avoidable.
If counties had cooperated from the start, Harwell would still be alive. Federal agents never would have flooded Minneapolis. Protests, lawsuits, lockdowns, and deaths could have been avoided.
Instead, Democrats chose confrontation over cooperation.
Now, after weeks of chaos and loss, Minnesota officials appear to have finally acknowledged the cost of protecting criminal illegal aliens at the expense of public safety.
The 700 agent withdrawal is not a retreat. It is a reset.
And according to Tom Homan, it is exactly how immigration enforcement should have worked from the beginning.
