The end of the highly contested migrant expulsion operations underway in the American state of Minnesota (north) at the initiative of the Donald Trump administration is a “matter of days”, Governor Tim Walz said on Tuesday.
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“I estimate — and we will know more, I think, within a day or two — that it is a matter of days, not weeks or months, before the end of this occupation,” he declared, indicating that he had spoken with the head of the operation, Tom Homan, and the president’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles.
In Minneapolis, Minnesota’s largest city, thousands of federal Immigration and Border Patrol (ICE) agents have conducted raids in recent weeks that the administration portrays as targeting criminals. Large numbers of migrants — and sometimes Americans — have been arrested.
Two US citizens who tried to oppose it, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were shot and killed by federal agents last month, sparking a wave of outrage and major protests.
Tim Walz, speaking at an event on the federal operation’s impact on small businesses, called it a “federal retaliatory campaign.”
“We saw terror in the streets. We have seen violence in our streets. We see the economic destruction that this is causing,” the Minnesota governor added.
The Democratic opposition is calling for broad reforms to how ICE operates, including an end to flying patrols, a ban on agents hiding their faces, and a requirement to obtain a court warrant before arresting an immigrant.
To this end, Democratic leaders in Congress are threatening not to approve the 2026 funding plan for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Faced with their demands, the White House has signaled its willingness to negotiate, but its response has so far not satisfied the opposition.
On January 31, an American judge temporarily rejected the request from Democratic authorities in Minnesota to block anti-immigration operations.
date: 2026-02-11 02:05:00
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