President Donald Trump has decided to halt the controversial deportation initiative in Minnesota, following heated protests. Over the upcoming week, immigration enforcement agents will begin to withdraw from the state.

Launched under “Operation Metro Surge,” the effort saw the deployment of approximately 3,000 armed immigration officers to Minnesota by late January, tasked with deporting individuals suspected of being undocumented immigrants.

Last month, the operation drew significant backlash after two U.S. citizens were fatally shot by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during protests or as bystanders, escalating tensions.

The aggressive enforcement strategy was met with fierce opposition from Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and sparked widespread demonstrations in Minneapolis, with residents taking to the streets in large numbers.

This conflict between the Trump administration and Minnesota became one of the more intense political challenges of Trump’s presidency.

On Thursday, White House Border Czar Tom Homan announced the end of the operation, marking a rare reversal for the administration. This decision followed criticism from both the public and members of the Republican Party.

Recovery ‘starts now’

Promises of mass deportations fuelled Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, but support for his policies cooled as immigration officers were deployed in military-style gear on streets across the country, prompting massive protests.

A week ago, Homan announced that about 700 out of 3,000 immigration agents would be withdrawn.

Without giving precise numbers, he said on Thursday that many of the remaining agents deployed from other states would be sent home in the coming week, citing in part what he called “unprecedented” coordination with local law enforcement agencies in Minnesota.

Before the surge, about 150 immigration agents worked in Minnesota, according to the Trump administration.

“ICE will continue to identify, arrest and remove illegal aliens that pose a risk to public safety, like we’ve done for years and our officers will carry out those duties with professionalism, integrity and compassion, like we’ve done for years,” Homan said.

Trump has said the surge was in the interest of public safety, describing many migrants, in sweeping terms, as violent criminals or fraudsters. Walz and other Minnesotans said the sometimes-violent federal surge has degraded public safety, and impinged on the constitutional rights of both migrants and Americans.

“The long road to recovery starts now,” Walz said in a statement.

“The impact on our economy, our schools, and people’s lives won’t be reversed overnight. That work starts today.”

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