US Border Czar Tom Homan speaks with White House reporters about (ICE) officer involved in the fatal shooting in Minneapolis on January 14, 2026 in Washington DC, USA.Lenin Nolly/Sipa USA/AP
On Sunday morning, Border czar Tom Homan said elected officials in Minnesota “ought to be saying thank you” to the Trump administration for making the state safer.
“They were a sanctuary state,” Homan said on Fox & Friends. “Their county jails weren’t working with us across the state. So you know what? We fixed it.”
The remarks came after Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and others criticized the Trump administration for its violent campaign against immigrants and the suppression of protesters in the days following Homan’s announcement that the federal government would end Operation Metro Surge.
“They left us with deep damage, generational trauma, economic ruin. They left us with many unanswered questions,” Gov. Walz said. “Where are our children? Where and what is the process of investigations into those who were responsible for the deaths of Renee and Alex?”
Gov. Walz also stressed the economic toll on the people and businesses of Minnesota and said on Thursday that lawmakers would work to reestablish the fund the state used for Covid recovery, starting with $10 million in forgivable loans for small businesses.
Walz stated that the Trump administration has to “pay for what they broke here” and that he has been in contact with federal leadership.
Mayor Frey also highlighted the economic damage of Operation Metro Surge on Friday. Minneapolis city officials released a 38-page report that estimated the immediate impact since the start of the wave of federal agents arriving in the city in December 2025—including $47 million in lost wages for people who were afraid to leave home, which has led to an additional $15.7 million needed in rent assistance and 76,200 people experiencing food insecurity.
The assessment, which totaled immediate costs at at least $203.1 million, concludes that “significant external funding is required” for the city to recover.
“Was the chaos worth it? Was the fear worth it?” Frey asked in his press conference on Friday.
For Homan, it was. “President Trump gets another win,” he said on Sunday. “Every day he’s winning, and I’m just proud to be a small part of this administration.”