“Not A Pullback”: Trump Dismisses Bovino Departure As Border Czar Homan Meets With Gov. Walz, Mayor Frey

Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times,

Border czar Tom Homan said on Jan. 27 that he met with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey individually amid ongoing protests against federal immigration enforcement in the state.

The meetings were held as anti-ICE protests intensified in Minnesota following the deaths of two Minneapolis residents protesting in separate incidents this month during immigration enforcement.

Homan, in a post on X, described the meetings as productive and said he also spoke with senior law enforcement officials “to discuss the issues on the ground” in Minnesota.

“We all agree that we need to support our law enforcement officers and get criminals off the streets,” he said.

“While we don’t agree on everything, these meetings were a productive starting point and I look forward to more conversations with key stakeholders in the days ahead.

“President Trump has been clear: he wants American cities to be safe and secure for law-abiding residents—and they will be.”

Homan did not provide specific details about the discussions during his meetings with Minnesota leaders.

In a post on X, Frey said he reiterated during the meeting that his main ask was for Operation Metro Surge—the federal immigration operation launched in Minnesota in December—to end as soon as possible and that Minneapolis will not enforce federal immigration laws.

“I shared with Mr. Homan the serious negative impacts this operation has had on Minneapolis and surrounding communities, as well as the strain it has placed on our local police officers,” the mayor said.

“I also made it clear that Minneapolis does not and will not enforce federal immigration laws, and that we will remain focused on keeping our neighbors and streets safe.”

Frey said they agreed to continue dialogue with federal authorities.

Nobody has asked Minneapolis PD to enforce immigration laws.

They’ve been asked honor ICE detainers so ICE can pick up illegal immigrants charged with crimes once they are released from jail (not prison)

It’s a safer setting for everyone involved & requires less ICE on streets. https://t.co/q9j886yobE

— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) January 28, 2026

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara was also present during the mayor’s meeting with Homan.

Walz’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the meeting with Homan by publication time.

Walz told CNN on Jan. 27 that the meeting was “progress” in de-escalating tensions in Minnesota. He called for impartial investigations of the shooting incidents involving ICE agents and the departure of federal officers from the state.

“I think that’s progress, but they started this fire, so we’re not giving anybody credit for putting it out,” Walz said of the meeting.

“But right now, what we need is, we need to return to normalcy.”

Before the meeting, Walz spoke by phone with President Donald Trump on Jan. 26 and told the president the number of federal agents in Minnesota needed to be reduced.

Trump has assigned Homan to oversee immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota and investigate fraud in state programs, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Jan. 26. The operations had previously been led by Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino.

During a Fox News interview aired on Jan. 27, Trump said Bovino’s departure from Minnesota is not a pullback, but rather a minor adjustment in the oversight of immigration enforcement operations.

“I don’t think it’s a pullback. It’s a little bit of a change. Everybody in this room that has a business … you make little changes,” he said.

“You know, Bovino’s very good, but he’s a pretty out there kind of a guy, and in some cases, that’s good; maybe it wasn’t good here.”

In a Jan. 26 post on Truth Social, Trump said that Homan has not been involved in operations in Minnesota, but he is familiar with many officials there.

“Tom is tough but fair, and will report directly to me,” Trump wrote.

Protesters and federal agents have clashed during enforcement operations in Minnesota in recent months, with demonstrations intensifying after a federal agent in Minneapolis fatally shot U.S. citizen Renee Good, who allegedly drove her SUV toward an officer during an ICE operation on Jan. 7.

Another fatal shooting occurred on Jan. 24 when a Customs and Border Protection officer shot and killed protestor Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse, during a federal immigration operation in Minneapolis.