Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is pressing the federal government to “pay for what they broke” after the Trump administration announced it would scale back immigration enforcement operations in the Twin Cities—a move Walz claims has left the state with long-lasting harm, Fox News reports.
Speaking after Border Czar Tom Homan revealed that Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota would be concluded, Walz accused federal law enforcement of leaving behind “deep damage” and “generational trauma.”
“The federal government needs to pay for what they broke here,” said Walz. “There [is] going to be accountability on the things that happened, but one of the things is the incredible and immense costs that were borne by the people of this state. The federal government needs to be responsible. You don’t get to break things and then just leave without doing something about it.
Walz, who served as Kamala Harris’s running mate during the 2024 presidential race, has often clashed with the Trump administration over immigration enforcement. Throughout Operation Metro Surge—intended to reduce fraud and criminal activity in the state—Walz criticized the approach as heavy-handed, though some local officials argued his rhetoric escalated tensions rather than helping resolve federal-state coordination issues.
Reacting to the federal drawdown, Walz said he was “cautiously optimistic” about the departure of what he called “untrained, aggressive federal agents,” asserting they had left Minnesota with “economic ruin” and unanswered questions. Walz said, “They left us with many unanswered questions: Where are our children? Where and what is the process of the investigations into those that were responsible for the deaths of Renee and Alex?”
Meanwhile, at a briefing in Minneapolis, Homan said the decision to end Operation Metro Surge came after the operation met its goal of reducing public-safety threats through “unprecedented levels of coordination” with state and local officials.
“Minnesota is now less of a sanctuary state for criminals,” Homan stated, adding that he proposed, and President Trump approved, the wind-down. He said a major reduction of immigration agents was in progress, with about 700 officers leaving and 2,000 remaining.
Homan said “a significant drawdown” of immigration agents was already underway and will continue through next week. According to the outlet, Homan “cited improved cooperation with jails and said a complete drawdown was the goal, but it was ‘contingent upon the end of illegal and threatening activities against ICE.’”
Homan emphasized that a limited federal presence would continue temporarily to wrap up criminal and fraud investigations, assuring that oversight of the transition would remain in place until those efforts were complete.