
After protests and backlash, Minnesota ICE surge set to end
Clip: 2/12/2026 | 6m 32sVideo has Closed Captions
After deaths, protests and political backlash, ICE surge set to end in Minnesota
President Trump's immigration campaign faced intense scrutiny on Capitol Hill, and his border czar announced a significant drawdown of its operations in Minnesota. Lisa Desjardins reports on the latest.
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After protests and backlash, Minnesota ICE surge set to end
Clip: 2/12/2026 | 6m 32sVideo has Closed Captions
President Trump's immigration campaign faced intense scrutiny on Capitol Hill, and his border czar announced a significant drawdown of its operations in Minnesota. Lisa Desjardins reports on the latest.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipGEOFF BENNETT: Welcome to the "News Hour."
The Department of Homeland Security is barreling toward a shutdown after Democrats refused to budge on a funding bill and lawmakers left Washington for a 10-day recess.
The department's funding is set to expire Friday at midnight.
AMNA NAWAZ: The deadlock comes as President Trump's immigration campaign faced intense scrutiny on Capitol Hill today, and his border czar announced a significant drawdown to its operations in Minnesota.
Lisa Desjardins begins our coverage.
TOM HOMAN, White House Border Czar: Good morning.
LISA DESJARDINS: In Minneapolis, from Tom Homan, a change of course.
TOM HOMAN: I have proposed, and President Trump has concurred, that this surge operation conclude.
LISA DESJARDINS: President Trump's border czar declaring an end to the tumultuous immigration crackdown in Minnesota, which in recent weeks saw a flurry of street arrests, widespread protests, and the killing of U.S.
citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal officers, and an entire community on edge.
Homan touted the operation as a success.
TOM HOMAN: As a result of our efforts here, Minnesota is now less of a sanctuary state for criminals.
LISA DESJARDINS: He said most agents will relocate, but a small footprint of personnel will remain to enforce immigration laws.
TOM HOMAN: President Trump made a promise of mass deportation, and that's what this country's going to get.
LISA DESJARDINS: But on the block where Mr.
Pretti was killed, skepticism lingers.
PATRICIA WAGNER, Minnesota Resident: I don't have a lot of trust in what is being said by Mr.
Homan and anyone in the administration, to be frank.
COURTNEY ARMBORST, Minnesota Resident: This is just one blue state that is suffering what's happening, and other blue states will continue to be under attack.
And ICE isn't going anywhere.
This is just a stop on their checklist.
LINH NGUYEN, Owner, Mi-Sant Kitchen & Bakery: There's a lot of damages that are left here for us to clean up.
LISA DESJARDINS: Linh Nguyen, who owns a restaurant in the Twin Cities suburbs, said the fear among immigrant communities will be hard to shake.
LINH NGUYEN: We certainly feel that the community itself is probably still very strong, and they will be there, but I don't know.
Long-term impact is hard to say right now.
GOV.
TIM WALZ (D-MN): We are cautiously optimistic.
LISA DESJARDINS: That mixed emotion echoed today by Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
GOV.
TIM WALZ: The fact of the matter is they left us with deep damage, generational trauma.
They left us with economic ruin in some cases.
While the federal government may move on to whatever next thing they want to do, the state of Minnesota and our administration is unwaveringly focused on the recovery of what they did.
LISA DESJARDINS: Meanwhile, in Washington, today's announcement came as the Senate Homeland Security Committee gaveled in for an oversight hearing.
First to testify, Minnesota Representative and Majority Whip Tom Emmer, who defended ICE.
REP.
TOM EMMER (R-MN): It was heartbreaking, and any loss of life is tragic.
But make no mistake, it was all a direct result of radical sanctuary state and city policies in Minnesota.
LISA DESJARDINS: Lawmakers directed questions at state leaders like Minnesota Attorney General and Democrat Keith Ellison.
KEITH ELLISON, Minnesota Attorney General: We haven't had any cooperation up until now, which is really unusual.
LISA DESJARDINS: He indicated hope for better cooperation with ICE, but said so far they have not seen that on the investigations into the fatal shooting of Renee Good.
KEITH ELLISON: We have been denied access to critical evidence in the case to evaluate it, information like the car, the gun, shell casings, other critical information needed to complete an evaluation and an investigation, we simply haven't had access to.
We hope this changes.
LISA DESJARDINS: Next, the nation's leading immigration officials faced senators... SEN.
RAND PAUL (R-KY): We can roll the video.
LISA DESJARDINS: ... and the video of how their agents acted, as senators played the moments leading up to Alex Pretti's killing frame by frame.
SEN.
RAND PAUL: Is filming of ICE or Border Patrol either an assault or a crime in any way, Mr.
Scott?
RODNEY SCOTT, Commissioner, U.S.
Customs and Border Protection: No, sir.
LISA DESJARDINS: CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott pledged to release officer bodycam video, but declined comment on who was at fault in Alex Pretti's death, citing investigations under way.
SEN.
GARY PETERS (D-MI): This woman's clearly trying to have her back turned, trying to get away.
And he shoves her pretty violently to the ground.
Just looking at that, would you think that that's not de-escalation, or you just say you can't answer that?
RODNEY SCOTT: No, I'm not justifying that action.
I'm saying I don't have enough information in front of me to say it is or is not, because I don't know what happened before this video.
SEN.
RAND PAUL: I think what's important about the encounter isn't even the specifics of the investigation.
It's about, what are your officers trained to do?
LISA DESJARDINS: Scott, as well as acting ICE Director Todd Lyons both indicated that an officer may draw their firearm when the agent believes it's required to do so, including when approaching a stopped vehicle.
Senator Rand Paul, who chairs the committee, urged the agencies to reevaluate.
SEN.
RAND PAUL: You have to look at what your rules are for drawing weapons, because it appears to me they're not using the same standard as the police.
LISA DESJARDINS: Both officials said they never told Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem that their assessment of Mr.
Pretti was that of a domestic terrorist.
SEN.
GARY PETERS: How would you possibly come to that kind of conclusion to tell the American public that when they're watching this video?
RODNEY SCOTT: I can't speculate on what someone else would say or why, sir.
SEN.
GARY PETERS: Mr.
Lyons?
TODD LYONS, Acting Director, U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement: Sir, I can't speculate to what the secretary thought at that time, sir.
SEN.
GARY PETERS: So it seems to me a really big question, which means that we have to have Secretary Noem here.
LISA DESJARDINS: For her part, Secretary Noem was in California this afternoon.
KRISTI NOEM, U.S.
Homeland Security Secretary: I know that some of the operations in Minnesota are changing, but we're going to continue to stay focused with our investigators through the Homeland Security Investigations on the fraud that's been going on.
LISA DESJARDINS: Back in Washington, the midterms and whether these agencies will deploy to the polls came up.
TODD LYONS: We do civil enforcement and criminal law enforcement.
There's no reason for us to deploy to a polling facility.
LISA DESJARDINS: Michigan Democrat Elissa Slotkin argued there's reason to believe they could.
SEN.
ELISSA SLOTKIN (D-MI): It's not fantasy.
It's not made up.
These are things that the president and his Cabinet have suggested.
If we do not have serious reform and change, then you will be contributing to the average American who woke up very supportive of law enforcement being terrified that they and their community will be next.
LISA DESJARDINS: But the future of any reform and of agency funding are now unclear.
SEN.
RAND PAUL: The hearing is now adjourned.
LISA DESJARDINS: For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Lisa Desjardins.
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