Trump’s border czar says some ICE agents will leave Minnesota : NPR

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

We have news on the federal immigration operation in Minnesota. Tom Homan, the president’s border czar, has been speaking with reporters this morning, and he says the feds will withdraw some – not most, but some – agents who have flooded the Minneapolis area, leading to protests and confrontations in which agents killed two Americans. Minnesota Public Radio’s Brian Bakst has been following all this. Brian, welcome back.

BRIAN BAKST, BYLINE: Hi, Steve.

INSKEEP: Why is it that Homan says that he can withdraw some of the agents?

BAKST: Homan says the talks he’s been having with state and local officials are moving in the right direction. He described having gotten commitments from, in his word, an unprecedented number of sheriffs in Minnesota to coordinate on transfers of immigrants with criminal records for possible deportation. And because of that, he says there won’t be a need for as many federal agents on the ground.

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TOM HOMAN: And as a result of the need for less law enforcement officers to do this work in a safer environment, I have announced effective immediately, we will draw down 700 people, effective today.

BAKST: And Homan said several times it was smart law enforcement, not less law enforcement. He says a full pullback isn’t here yet because there will still be some – more than 2,000 agents in Minnesota, well above normal levels. And I want to be clear that even as Homan talks about a drawdown, agents are still out there making arrests. There are still protests. Observers are still out there with their whistles and cameras to record encounters.

INSKEEP: Is Homan acknowledging that whatever they were doing before his arrival just wasn’t working?

BAKST: He did talk about having brought a different set of eyes to this operation and establishing a clearer chain of command and more targeted enforcement.

INSKEEP: OK. And what has he been saying in discussions, if anything, with Governor Tim Walz?

BAKST: Well, he said that those discussions have been productive. The two met in person last week and then spoke again yesterday morning. From the governor’s perspective, he said that he doesn’t consider this to be a negotiation because there are certain things that he doesn’t want to bargain away. He says there must be an immediate and complete officer drawdown and for the federal government to allow state involvement in the two shooting investigations. He got pretty animated at a news conference yesterday when Walz said that he’s received no official confirmation of which officers fatally shot Alex Pretti as he was being held down.

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TIM WALZ: Two of my citizens killed, and yet we don’t get a confirmation on who did it, what’s happening and, at this point in time, still saying we have no say in any of the investigation into that, let alone potential prosecution.

INSKEEP: I want to just go through some numbers here, if I can, just so that I understand the situation, Brian. There were something like – have been something like 3,000 federal agents in Minnesota. Tom Homan says 700 or so are leaving, so there’s still going to be more than 2,000 there. And we still have these questions about information sharing, letting state investigators – independent investigators – into the investigation of the killing of Alex Pretti, not to mention the killing of Renee Good. So what do we know about the investigation into Pretti’s shooting first?

BAKST: Well, there’s a couple of things of note. The Homeland Security Investigations Unit initially was in charge. Now it’s the FBI. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension typically joins in these kinds of investigations, but it was shut out. So it sued over a lack of access to evidence, and a federal judge initially issued a temporary restraining order to prevent federal investigators from altering or destroying evidence. The judge this week lifted that order because he said he’s seen no indication that the FBI would mishandle or otherwise tamper with evidence. And from the state perspective, those state investigators say that they’ll keep pressing for cooperation with the feds.

INSKEEP: Interesting choice, to trust the FBI at this point. Now, what about the other investigation into the killing of Renee Macklin Good?

BAKST: Yeah. It’s been four weeks since an ICE officer shot Macklin Good through the windshield of her car. Early on and since, DHS officials have said the officer acted in self-defense. We heard from two of her brothers yesterday, who appeared before a congressional panel. They said it’s been a struggle to come to terms with her death. This is Luke Ganger.

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LUKE GANGER: These encounters with federal agents are changing the community and changing many lives, including ours, forever.

BAKST: The other brother, Brent Ganger, told lawmakers that billions of people now know Good’s name. And he described her as, quote, “the resilience we didn’t know we had until we needed it.” And a private service for Good was held last weekend.

INSKEEP: Brian, tell me very briefly about something else that happened yesterday in a courtroom hearing. There was a prosecutor who seemed to have an outburst of reality. What did she say?

BAKST: Yes. My colleague Matt Sepic was there when a special assistant U.S. attorney was questioned by the judge. That lawyer, Julie Le, told the judge that it’s been difficult to get full compliance from the department, and she’s basically working around the clock. She said, quote, “this system sucks. This job sucks.” And she said she wouldn’t mind being held in contempt, but there was no contempt finding.

INSKEEP: OK, thanks very much. Brian Bakst. Really appreciate it.

BAKST: You’re welcome.

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