“We can outlast an occupation”: Frey celebrates as Minneapolis ICE surge ends

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey celebrated the announcement of a drawdown in ICE agents in the city on Thursday.

After border czar Tom Homan revealed that the surge of immigration agents in Minnesota would soon come to an end, Frey took a moment to congratulate residents of Minneapolis for their courage in continuing to push back against city-wide raids and enforcement actions.

“They thought they could break us, but a love for our neighbors and a resolve to endure can outlast an occupation,” he wrote on X. “These patriots of Minneapolis are showing that it’s not just about resistance — standing with our neighbors is deeply American.”

Frey said the ICE surge, which resulted in the deaths of two protestors, had been “catastrophic for our neighbors and businesses” and said that Minneapolis was poised for a “great comeback.”

“We will show the same commitment to our immigrant residents and endurance in this reopening, and I’m hopeful the whole country will stand with us as we move forward,” he wrote.

Homan, for his part, called the operation a success. He told the press that President Donald Trump was making good on promises of mass deportation and said the ICE presence had ultimately made the state safer.

“The surge is leaving Minnesota safer,” he said. “I’ll say it again, it’s less of a sanctuary state for criminals.

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In a press conference following Homan’s announcement, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said he would be happy to “pack [the Department of Homeland Security‘s] damn bags” and called for accountability from the Trump administration. The Democrat and former vice presidential candidate said that ICE had left “deep damage” in their wake.

“The federal government needs to pay for what they broke here,” he said. “There’s going to be accountability on things that happened, but one of them is the incredible and immense cost borne by the people of this state. The federal government needs to be responsible.”