Tom Homan Meets With Minnesota Leaders as Tensions Over Federal Immigration Enforcement Remain

A high-level meeting between Border Czar Tom Homan, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey ended without consensus, underscoring the deep divide between the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement priorities and local Democratic leadership.

Both Homan and Frey took to social media following the meeting, each offering sharply different interpretations of what was discussed and what should come next.

“Today I met with Governor Walz, Mayor Frey, and top 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,” Homan said in a Tuesday post on X.

“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.”

Despite the disagreement, Homan emphasized that the Trump administration’s position remains firm. According to him, there is no ambiguity about President Donald Trump’s priorities when it comes to public safety.

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

Mayor Frey, however, framed the meeting as an opportunity to push back against federal enforcement efforts in his city. In his own statement, Frey made it clear that his goal is for federal immigration operations in Minneapolis to come to an end.

“Today, Chief O’Hara and I met with Border Czar Homan and had a productive conversation. I reiterated that my main ask is for Operation Metro Surge to end as quickly as possible,” Frey posted on X.

“Public safety works best when it’s built on community trust, not tactics that create fear or division.”

The meeting comes as President Donald Trump signaled a possible tactical adjustment — but not a policy reversal — in the administration’s effort to remove criminal illegal immigrants from American cities, according to ABC News.

“You know, we have Tom Homan there now, we put him in there. He’s great. And they met with the governor, the mayor, everybody else. And we’ll, we’re going to de-escalate a little bit,” Trump said in one Tuesday interview.

The president was quick to clarify that any adjustment should not be interpreted as a retreat from enforcement.

“I haven’t heard that at all, because it’s just the opposite,” Trump said. “But It’s not a question of retreat. We want — we want safe cities.”

“I don’t think it’s a pullback. It’s a little bit of a change.”

Earlier this week, Trump stressed that cooperation from state and local officials would significantly shorten the duration of federal operations in Minnesota.

“What we need is their criminals. You know, they have criminals. And all I said, ‘just give us your criminals’ and if you give us the criminals, it all goes away,” he said.

By Wednesday, however, the tone from the White House sharpened. In a Truth Social post, Trump responded directly to public comments from Mayor Frey suggesting Minneapolis would not enforce federal immigration law.

“Surprisingly, Mayor Jacob Frey just stated that, ‘Minneapolis does not, and will not, enforce Federal Immigration Laws.’ This is after having had a very good conversation with him. Could somebody in his inner sanctum please explain that this statement is a very serious violation of the Law, and that he is PLAYING WITH FIRE!”

The exchange highlights a growing clash between the Trump administration’s commitment to law and order and local officials who continue to resist cooperation with federal immigration authorities — even as concerns over crime and public safety dominate national debate.