Fewer than 500 ICE agents remain in Minnesota, lawmakers say

Federal lawmakers say fewer than 500 Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents remain in Minnesota, signaling a continued drawdown of the unprecedented ICE operation that left two citizens dead.

During a tour of the Whipple Federal Building on Friday, Feb. 20, U.S. Reps. Ilhan Omar and Angie Craig met with ICE St. Paul Field Office Director Sam Olson to learn more about the continued scope of Operation Metro Surge.

The congresswomen reported that:

The remaining ICE force of about 500 does not include additional Homeland Security Investigations agents.

Though both lawmakers said they remain skeptical, the updates offer rare verification that immigration agents have indeed left Minnesota a week after Homan announced plans to end the operation. Homan said in a CNN interview Friday he plans to winnow ICE’s force in Minnesota to a ”regular footprint” of 150 agents, dwarfing the estimated 3,000 agents sent to the state as the operation peaked.

“We’re not going to believe it until we fully can see it and feel it,” Craig said, adding that Twin Cities suburbs have reported ongoing ICE activity. “We made it absolutely clear, under no uncertain premise, that they need to completely draw down from Minnesota.”

Omar, Craig and Rep. Kelly Morrison tried to review conditions in the building in January, but the Democrats were turned away for not providing a week’s advance notice. Omar and Craig requested a visit eight days prior to this time but were told that all detainees left a half-hour before lawmakers arrived.

Several ICE detainees described inhumane conditions inside the Whipple Building, citing overcrowded rooms and differing treatment based on citizenship. Immigration attorneys who inspected the building facilities supported such claims, adding that within the site were piles of trash, little to no bedding and holding rooms with a dozen or more people.

Craig vowed to fight for unscheduled visits to the facility, adding that court action may be required to ensure they can check conditions in the building without officials cleaning up beforehand. Omar said she plans to visit the four county jails where detainees are being held and to return to review the Whipple Building.

“The idea is that nothing should happen in the darkness in America to subvert people’s civil liberties,” Omar said. “We know that [similar facilities] are going to work really hard to make sure that there is nothing for us to see and there is nothing for us to report. But what we want in this country is truth and honesty. There is already a loss of trust in federal law enforcement, and we want to make sure that people have trust in those that are supposed to carry out the laws of this land.”