Minnesota Democratic Representative Angie Craig on Thursday condemned the government's claims about improved security in the state thanks to federal immigration operations. Craig called those claims “totally false” after the announcement that agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will withdraw from the state next week. Craig stated that while she welcomed the departure of these agencies, she categorically refuted the idea that operations such as “Operation Metro Surge” had made Minnesota a safer place. “Their corrupt agents murdered two Minnesotans, traumatized children, and detained immigrants and American citizens,” the congresswoman said on her Twitter account. She added that the state’s residents “will never forget the terror” caused by federal authorities. Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan also reacted to the announcement, expressing her relief that the state had seen the departure of federal agents. withdrawal of what she described as a “violent paramilitary force.”

Through the same social media platform, Flanagan stated that she would not believe the measure until she saw that ICE and CBP were completely gone from the streets of Minnesota. She also emphasized the pain caused by the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, two U.S. citizens killed in separate shootings by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis last month.

* Flanagan condemned the violence and chaos that she said the federal government sowed in the community, affecting families, schools, and small businesses.

The White House chief for the border, Thomas Homan, defended ICE's work in the state, arguing that the staff reduction was the result of fewer agitators and collaboration with local law enforcement.

Homan explained that a small group of agents would remain in Minnesota to wrap up pending operations and ensure that the decrease in unrest continued.

He defended the agency's actions, asserting that they were not intended to "disappear people" or violate civil rights. Nevertheless, the deaths of Good and Pretti, caused by ICE agents, sparked outrage locally and nationally, intensifying criticism of federal operations in the state.