The US President Donald Trump has ordered the withdrawal of 700 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents who were involved in immigrant enforcement activities in Minnesota.
The New York Times writes about this.
White House border czar Tom Homan said about 2 000 officers and agents would remain in the state.
State and local officials said the reduction in officers was welcome but not enough. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat, called the reduction in officers “a step in the right direction”, but said 2 000 federal officers in the region still “does not constitute de-escalation”.
This statement was supported by Minnesota Governor, a Democrat Tim Walz.
"Todayʼs announcement is a step in the right direction, but we need a faster and more comprehensive troop reduction, public inquiries into the murders of Alex Pretty and Renee Goode, and an end to this campaign of retaliation," he said.
- The Trump administration has deployed thousands of federal agents to Minnesota since December, in what US Immigration and Customs Enforcement called the operation the largest in the agencyʼs history. But the agentsʼ actions have been criticized for being too harsh on protesters who opposed Trumpʼs immigration policies.
- Mass protests against ICE have intensified since the murders of first poet Renee Goode and then paramedic Alex Pretty, both American citizens.
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