Where things stand
• Minnesota surge over: Border czar Tom Homan said the monthslong immigration enforcement crackdown that led to mass protests, thousands of arrests and the deaths of two US citizens was coming to an end.
• Heated hearing in DC: Top Minnesota officials denounced the crackdown at a Senate hearing, saying it has driven down business and left residents in fear. At one point, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Republican Sen. Ron Johnson had a heated exchange after Johnson accused Ellison of contributing to the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who were fatally shot by federal agents.
• Funding stalemate: Meanwhile, Democrats are unlikely to accept a new White House offer to rein in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement tactics ahead of a deadline tomorrow to fund the Department of Homeland Security, according to Democratic sources.
Minnesota governor wants federal compensation for damage to state economy during immigration surge
In his first public comments since the White House border czar announced Operation Metro Surge in the Minneapolis area was ending, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said the crackdown did serious economic damage to the state.
The governor spoke at a news conference announcing state plans for subsidized loans to small businesses Walz says suffered reduced foot traffic because of the immigration enforcement crackdown.
“The investments that need to come back,” Walz said. “They need to show — ‘they’ being the federal government and ‘they’ being this administration — they need to do more.”
Walz said he was in touch with Minnesota’s congressional delegation to discuss funding, but did not give specifics on how he wants the Trump administration to compensate the state.
Walz is “cautiously optimistic” about the drawdown in immigration officers in the Twin Cities, he said, adding it won’t end outrage over the surge that resulted in the detention of families and the deaths of two protesters.
“They left us with many unanswered questions: Where are our children? Where and what is the process of the investigations into those that were responsible for the deaths of Renee (Good) and Alex (Pretti)?” Walz asked.
“We’re certainly not going to celebrate something that should have never happened,” he added.
Border Patrol chief says he never told Noem that Pretti was a domestic terrorist
Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott told a Senate committee that he never described Alex Pretti as a domestic terrorist to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem – nor was he aware of anyone in his agency doing so.
Almost immediately after Pretti’s killing last month, Noem and other top administration officials rushed to describe Pretti as a terrorist who was intent on massacring law enforcement.
But after video was released showing that Pretti was holding a phone and never drew the firearm he was carrying in a holster in his waistband, both Noem and top White House aide Stephen Miller said they were relying on information from Border Patrol officials on the ground for their premature initial assessments.
During today’s hearing, Sen. Gary Peters asked Scott whether that description of Pretti had come from him.
“No, sir,” Scott responded.
Asked whether someone in his staff told Noem that, Scott responded: “Not to my knowledge.”
Asked how Noem could come to that conclusion, Scott said:“I can’t speculate on what someone else would say or why, sir.”
House expected to leave Washington today but members will be on 48-hour notice to return
House GOP leaders are expected to send members home on Thursday and will provide 48-hours notice to members if forcing them to return to Washington, according to multiple GOP sources.
The House has a pre-planned recess scheduled for next week.
Speaker Mike Johnson has said he hopes to bring members back as soon as possible to back a Department of Homeland Security funding bill — either another temporary funding patch or a full-year bill. But Senate Democrats have told CNN that they will oppose the Senate’s plans for a DHS funding vote later Thursday.
This means a DHS funding shutdown is likely to happen Friday at midnight and will not be resolved until the White House and Democrats can reach a deal on their ongoing negotiations over federal immigration enforcement.
Meanwhile, Melania Trump announces return of Russian and Ukrainian children
First lady Melania Trump has helped secure the release of five Ukrainian children allegedly abducted by Russia and one Russian child, a top Russian official said, with the first lady’s office touting it as her third unification effort.
Trump’s engagement with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which began in August, “helped accelerate these reunifications and lays the groundwork for a faster process going forward,” Maria Lvova-Belova, presidential commissioner for children’s rights in Russia, said in a statement.
“Today, five children—four boys and one girl, aged 4 to 15—are being reunited with their families in Ukraine, and one child is returning to Russia,” Lvova-Belova added.
Lvova-Belova and Putin are wanted by the International Criminal Court for the forced deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia.
The first lady previously announced the return of eight Ukrainian children in October and seven more in December. Her office announced the additional release on Thursday but did not specify the number of children. CNN has reached out to her office for more information. It was not immediately clear whether the one Russian child is being returned to Russian-occupied territory that was originally part of Ukraine at the start of the war.
“I appreciate that Russia and Ukraine are dedicated to bringing back the children who have been displaced because of the circumstances surrounding this conflict,” Trump said in a statement, urging both countries to “intensify their efforts.”
Some advocates who have lauded the return of Ukrainian children have also raised concerns about Trump’s involvement — and especially her passive-voice characterization of how the children ended up in Russia, fearing that it will only end up playing to Putin, CNN previously reported.
Border Patrol chief says bodycam of Pretti killing will be made public when "appropriate"
Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott told a Senate committee today that body-worn camera footage of the killing of Alex Pretti will be made public “when it’s appropriate.”
Scott’s comments during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hearing came as the panel’s chairman, Republican Sen. Rand Paul, played video of the encounter that ended in Pretti’s death.
In response to several questions about what the video showed – including federal officers pushing a woman to the ground and spraying Pretti in the face while he held a phone in his hand – Scott said he would not be able to “jump to a conclusion in either direction.”
Asked by Paul whether the footage would be released, Scott responded: “yes.”
Paul said some of the conduct of Border Patrol officers was “inexcusable.”
Right now, he added, “I don’t know that the American public believes there can be an honest assessment.”
Sen. Paul says ICE and Border Patrol “must admit their mistakes” to restore trust
Opening the second portion of a Senate committee hearing on the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, GOP Sen. Rand Paul said Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) “must admit their mistakes” to restore the public’s trust.
While the first part of the hearing featured state officials in Minneapolis who denounced the government’s crackdown, the second part includes top DHS and immigration officials, who Paul said will have to explain the conduct of their agents, including the ones involved in the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
“My goal, with this hearing, is not to condemn or to argue to defund ICE,” Paul said. “My goal is to restore public trust.”
If officials don’t admit that there’s a problem, Paul added, “we’re not going to get anywhere.”
He then asked ICE acting Director Todd Lyons and CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott whether yelling at their officers is a “form of domestic assault.”
Both responded no.
Paul then asked whether filming their officers was a crime. The two officials again responded no.
Sen. Kelly blasts White House's DHS counteroffer as "a bunch of bullsh*t"
Sen. Mark Kelly said Democrats did discuss in their meeting today next steps in Department of Homeland Security funding showdown and that he believes the White House’s offer “seem[s] like a bunch of bullshit” that does not address “core issues.”
Kelly said he’s opposed to a stopgap funding measure, known as a continuing resolution, and wouldn’t back one unless there was a “change of leadership” at the top of DHS.
“For me to give any funding to that organization, I would have to see a plan for a serious overhaul to include change of leadership. Ya know the rot starts at the top,” he said.
Pushed if he was referring to DHS Secretary Noem, he said: “I want to see somebody.”
Missile destroyer vessel and support ship collided in the Caribbean, military says
Two US ships collided in the Caribbean during a replenishment yesterday, causing two minor injuries, a military spokesperson told CNN.
The collision, between the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, USS Truxtun, and the fast-combat support ship, USNS Supply, is under investigation, a US Southern Command Spokesperson told CNN today. It was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
The two ships have since resumed sailing, and the two people injured are in “stable condition,” Southern Command added.
Late last summer, the US bulked up its military presence around Latin America as part of ramped-up efforts to combat drug cartels. The USS Truxtun, which was commissioned in 2009, left Naval Station Norfolk for its deployment earlier this month as a part of that effort.
The USNS Supply, the Navy’s largest combat logistics ship, is part of the Military Sealift Command, a fleet of ships that provide equipment, fuel, supplies and ammunition for US forces worldwide.
In October, a significant percentage of all deployed US naval assets globally were located in US Southern Command, the US military’s command responsible for operations in the region.
Minnesota corrections chief: "Misinformation" from White House hampers law enforcement
The commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Corrections said law enforcement’s job in his state is made more “challenging” by misinformation from the White House.
“The levels of misinformation do become challenging,” Commissioner Paul Schnell said during a Senate hearing on Thursday.
He said the Trump administration, while promoting the so-called “worst of the worst” detained by ICE in the Twin Cities, recently posted on social media about a man who they claimed Immigration and Customs Enforcement took off the streets — but who was released directly to ICE by the state corrections department last May.
“And so this misinformation, I think, makes it much more challegning for law enforcement, and I think it’s contrary to the way it has historically been in terms of collaboration,” he said.
Here's what we know, and don't, as Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis comes to an end
Operation Metro Surge is ending, White House Border czar Tom Homan announced today. But the announcement left some questions unanswered.
Here’s what we know:
- Immigration enforcement will continue throughout the nation, while a “small footprint of personnel” will remain in Minnesota during a transition period that will give full control back to a field office, Homan said today.
- Homan said he and his team have improved coordination with state and local officials. “As a result of our efforts here, Minnesota is now less of a sanctuary state for criminals,” Homan said.
- Homan emphasized there continues to be “zero tolerance” for impeding those operations, but that he does not wish to see “any more bloodshed.”
- Homan said thousands of arrests were made in Minneapolis through Operation Metro Surge. “I know we’ve made over 4,000 arrests here,” he said
Here’s what’s still unclear:
- Homan did not say how many agents will remain in Minnesota after the surge operation concludes. Previously, he said there are typically about 150 immigration agents in the state.
- Trump administration officials have promised federal investigations into the shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. However, Homan today stopped short of demanding accountability for individual officers accused of exceeding their authority.
- While Homan said thousands of arrests had been made in Minneapolis throughout the operation, he did not offer an exact breakdown of how many were targeted security threats.
CNN’s Kit Maher, Lauren Mascarenhas, and Andy Rose contributed to this reporting.
Walz and Frey look for economic rebound after end of immigration surge
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey are looking toward an economic rebound and a reopening in the state after border czar Tom Homan announced an end to the immigration enforcement surge operation today.
Homan said the enforcement crackdown that roiled Minnesota, led to the deaths of two US citizens and triggered widespread outrage was coming to an end after yielding “successful results.”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey framed the moment as a win for the people of Minnesota. “They thought they could break us, but a love for our neighbors and a resolve to endure can outlast an occupation,” Frey wrote on X.
Frey, Walz and other Minnesota leaders voiced fierce opposition to the surge throughout the months-long operation.
“Minnesotans stood together, stared down ICE, and never blinked,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar said on X.
Minnesota Lieutenant Gov. Peggy Flanagan called on the government to assist in the recovery.
“Our schools, our small businesses, and our churches have been targeted, closed, and harmed forever,” Flanagan said in a statement. “The government must restore and repair what’s been broken.”
CNN’s Andy Rose and Toni Odejimi contributed to this reporting.
“Yeah, sit there and smirk:” Ellison and Sen. Johnson in heated exchange about ICE observers
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Republican Sen. Ron Johnson had a heated exchange during a Senate hearing today after Johnson accused Ellison of contributing to the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
“You encouraged trained activists to put themselves into harm’s way,” Johnson said to Ellison.
He later added: “I would think you’d actually, as the chief law enforcement officer of Minnesota, be concerned about people obstructing justice.”
Ellison said “that never happened” and that he’d always encouraged people to protest peacefully.
Johnson said ICE officers have faced a barrage of threats from protesters and asked: “Is there any wonder they’re at hair-trigger alert?”
“Yeah, sit there and smirk,” he shouted at Ellison after his questioning was finished. “Sick. It is despicable.”
Ellison shot back: “Are you asking me for comment, senator, because everything you said was untrue.”
Minnesota officials decry immigration crackdown during Senate hearing
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and the commissioner of the state’s correctional system, Paul Schnell, denounced the federal government’s surge of immigration officials in the Twin Cities during a Senate hearing on Thursday – saying it has driven down business and left residents in fear.
Testifying in front of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Thursday, Ellison called for the committee to use its oversight powers to compel several reforms, while adding the surge has contributed to, not driven down, violent crime in Minneapolis.
Two of the three homicides in Minneapolis this year, Ellison pointed out, were committed by federal agents.
“One question any rational person might ask is ‘why?’” Ellison said. “Why is this happening? Because it simply doesn’t really make sense. Every rationale the administration has offered for this surge is really a pretext.”
Schnell, meanwhile, said the administration is spinning a “false narrative” that “Minneapolis is a lawless sanctuary where dangerous criminals are allowed to slip through the cracks.”
“That simply is not true,” he added.
It’s not clear whether the state officials were aware that White House border czar Tom Homan announced he would move to end the immigration surge while they were testifying.
Democrats will reject White House's latest ICE offer, spiking odds of shutdown
Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate’s spending panel, told CNN that the caucus will oppose any votes on a stopgap spending bill for the Department of Homeland Security later today.
She and others, she said, are not satisfied by the White House’s latest response in their ongoing negotiations over reforms to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
This dramatically increases the odds of a DHS shutdown starting Friday at midnight.
Asked if the full Democratic caucus would oppose the GOP’s stopgap funding plans on Thursday, Murray replied: “Yes.”
CNN correspondent outlines 2 big themes of Homan's news conference
CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez noted two themes that that were addressed during border czar Tom Homan’s latest news conference: targeted enforcement and cooperation.
Listen to Alvarez’s reporting on those topics here:
Homan says over 4,000 arrests made in Minneapolis, "issues" were fixed on the ground
While Trump’s border czar Tom Homan said thousands of arrests have been made in Minneapolis through Operation Metro Surge, he did not offer an exact breakdown of how many were targeted security threats.
“I don’t have that exact breakdown. I know we’ve made over 4,000 arrests here. That is something local field office can supply,” Homan said. “I can tell you, since I’ve been on the ground, they’ve been targeted enforcement arrests. I believe they were targeted enforcement arrests before I got here.”
Homan pointed to some “issues” in Minnesota during the operation, which he said have been resolved.
“There were some issues here, and we addressed those issues, but I’m not gonna sit here and say anybody did anything wrong and that, you know, they were, you know, unprofessional,” Homan added. “I’m going to say there’s, there’s some issues here. We fixed those issues. We’ve had great success with this operation, and we’re leaving Minnesota safer.”
While Homan said criminals are the priority, he continued to warn that undocumented immigrants, who have not committed crimes, are still at risk of deportation.
Border czar says “small footprint of personnel” will stay in Minnesota
Immigration enforcement will continue throughout the nation, while a “small footprint of personnel” will remain in Minnesota, Border czar Tom Homan said Thursday, upon announcing an end to the surge in the state.
“A small footprint of personnel will remain for a period of time to close out and transition full command and control back to the field office, as well as to ensure agitator activity continues to decline and that state and local law enforcement continue to respond to ensure officer and community safety,” Homan said.
There are typically about 150 immigration agents on the ground in Minnesota, Homan has previously said. It’s unclear how many agents will remain in the state after the surge operation concludes.
Around the nation, immigration authorities will prioritize “national security threats and public safety risks,” Homan said, adding that “doesn’t mean we forget about everybody else.”
“if you are here in the country illegally, you’re not exempt from our immigration laws. If we encounter you, we’ll take appropriate enforcement action,” he said.
Mass deportations still “what this country is going to get,” Homan says
While Operation Metro surge is ending, enforcement of immigration law will continue, border czar Tom Homan affirmed in a news conference minutes ago.
“That’s what American people voted for,” Homan said. “But we’re prioritizing those who are the biggest threat to our community, the rapists, the murders, the child molesters. That’s the right thing to do.”
“President Trump made a promise of mass deportation, and that’s what this country is going to get,” Homan told reporters. “Nothing changed, other than we make sure they’re targeted and make sure we know who we’re going for, what their immigration record was, their criminal history.”
“We don't want to see any more bloodshed,” Homan says while admonishing “agitators”
While speaking about his efforts to “de-escalate” tensions between federal law enforcement and those protesting immigration enforcement actions in Minneapolis, border czar Tom Homan emphasized there continues to be “zero tolerance” for impeding those operations, but that he does not wish to see “any more bloodshed.”
He said this during a news conference in which he also announced that the monthslong immigration enforcement surge that roiled the Minneapolis area is coming to an end.
“Forcibly assaulting, resisting, opposing, impeding, intimidating or interfering with a federal law enforcement officer is a crime,” Homan emphasized. “It will not be tolerated, zero tolerance if you cross that line and put hands on an ICE officer.”
“Such activity,” Homan said, has seen “tragic consequences.”
“This is not the way to express your disagreement or try to reform federal laws. Go talk to your members of Congress if you want the laws changed in this country,” Homan said.
“Enough is enough with this misguided, reckless and shameful behavior,” he added. “We don’t want to see any more bloodshed. I don’t want to see any more bloodshed.”
Homan said more than 200 people have already been arrested on suspicion of violating USC § 111, a federal statute that criminalizes “forcibly assaulting, resisting, opposing, impeding, intimidating, or interfering” with designated federal officers or employees while they are engaged in official duties.
Homan says Minnesota operation has achieved its goals, including increased coordination
After being sent to Minneapolis in the wake of the killing of a US citizen by a federal agent, President Donald Trump’s border czar Tom Homan said he and his team have improved coordination with state and local officials.
“I’m very pleased to report that this surge operation and our work here with state and local officials to improve coordination and achieve mutual goals, as well as our efforts to address issues of a concern here on the ground have yielded the successful results we have came, came here for,” Homan said.
Since meeting with the Minnestoa Governor Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Attorney General Keith Ellison, Homan said they share the mutual goal of “ensuring and maintaining public safety,” despite differences.
