Federal immigration agents in Minneapolis appear to be downshifting aggressive tactics

Kaegan Recher’s phone lit up with notifications of federal agent sightings Tuesday morning, Feb. 3, as he drove through south Minneapolis, much like it has for weeks now.

When White House border czar Tom Homan came to Minneapolis to take over the lead of Operation Metro Surge last week, he said there was a plan in the works to reduce the number of agents in the area. There had been an estimated total of 3,000 agents in Minnesota. On Wednesday, Homan announced a reduction of 700 law enforcement personnel in Minnesota “effective immediately,” leaving about 2,000 in the state.

In the week prior to Homan’s latest announcement, Recher was one of many residents, observers and protesters who told the Minnesota Star Tribune they had not seen indications that any agents who flooded into the Twin Cities had already left.

But they are reporting a seeming change in agents’ tactics, including fewer large caravans of federal agent vehicles, fewer agents on foot questioning or arresting pedestrians they come across, and fewer confrontations with protesters.

“It seems like they are more hesitant to exit their vehicle now, and I don’t know if that’s by directive, but I would get a lot of warnings in the past,” Recher said. “They would get out of their cars with assault rifles drawn and say, ‘Stop following us.’ ”

ICE and the Department of Homeland Security declined to discuss whether federal agents have shifted their approach to immigration enforcement in response to the arrival of Homan and the more intense public scrutiny following the killings of Minneapolis residents Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

During his Wednesday news conference, Homan said his goal is to reduce the footprint back to the 150 agents permanently stationed in Minnesota. He added that it will happen once residents of Minnesota stop “impeding” Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection agents from doing their job.

President Donald Trump said on social media that he ordered DHS to “under no circumstances” get involved with protests in Democratic-led cities unless they ask for federal help or federal property is threatened.

Despite the change in tone, intense fights still break out daily between agents and protesters following them.

Just before 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, videos posted on X showed agents pointing handguns at the driver and passengers of an SUV near the intersection of E. 27th Street and Cedar Avenue while ordering them to get out. The agents detained several of the observers who had been tailing the agents through an alleyway.

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in an email that agents were attempting to arrest an undocumented man from Ecuador who they say had previously been charged with assault. McLaughlin alleged that people in two vehicles attempted to block an agent’s vehicle by closing a gate ahead of it.

Tyler Deans, a volunteer with the group Haven Watch, which provides transportation to detainees after they are released at the Whipple Federal Building, said he suspects agents will be less obvious with how they will operate now. But he doubts that Homan’s arrival will lead to significant changes.

Some interactions between protesters and agents have been more civil.

Around 10:45 a.m., an SUV stopped in front of Recher, who had been following them and honking his horn to warn residents of the federal presence. A masked Border Patrol agent got out and approached Recher’s window and asked that he not follow too closely.

“I’m just saying, we’re doing our job, we’re Border Patrol, please can you give us space?” the agent said.

Before the agent walked away, Recher said, “Please leave our city. We don’t want you here.”

Ally Peters, a spokeswoman for Frey, said that there has been “no confirmation or guidance from the federal government” regarding whether there has been a reduction in agents or what changes have been made.

That includes “fewer visible vehicles and less of the highly visible street-level enforcement tactics that previously raised concerns,” Peters said.

“We do not have verified information on the number of federal agents operating in the area,” Peters said.

At the Whipple Building, which houses immigration court and has been the headquarters for the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, there were no clear signs of a drawdown of federal agents five days after Homan took the leadership role.

ICE and other DHS staff were regularly coming and going. Workers in the facility and regular observers of immigration court said they have not noticed a change in the number of federal agents. Immigration attorneys say their phone lines continue to ring off the hook with detainees needing representation.

At the visitor entrance, a small drone hovered about 25 feet above a guard house where security screened vehicles entering the parking lot.

Just before 11 a.m. Feb. 3, protesters gathered at the intersection of 14th Avenue S. and E. 27th Street, where two SUVs with federal agents were parked on either side of the road. For about 30 minutes, the agents sat in the vehicles.

A couple of protesters moved orange caution cones and a garbage can in front of the agents’ vehicles to block them, before Recher moved the obstacles out of the street.

The agents briefly got out and threatened to use pepper spray when a protester took a wooden “no parking” sign from the sidewalk and tapped it on the window.

The crowd of protesters and observers quickly grew from a handful to about 30, many of whom were yelling at the agents, taunting them or blowing whistles.

Just after 11:30 a.m., as the agents began driving away, two men shattered two of the windows of the agents’ vehicles.

At least two people were tackled and detained, though it appeared the people who smashed the windows were not caught. The agents warned onlookers by holding up pepper spray and tasers but did not appear to use them before driving away.