The Trump administration said on Thursday that it was ending its deployment of immigration agents to Minnesota, unwinding an aggressive operation that has stretched for more than two months despite loud opposition from residents and local officials.
Tom Homan, the White House border czar, said “a significant drawdown has already been underway this week, and will continue to the next week.”
Mr. Homan said he had made arrangements for immigration agents to have more access to undocumented inmates at county jails in Minnesota and had productive conversations with state officials. He did not immediately provide details of agreements reached with Minnesota officials.
“As a result of our efforts here, Minnesota is now less of a sanctuary state for criminals,” Mr. Homan said.
For many Minnesotans who had watched the federal government work its will on their state — wielding law enforcement power and physical force at a scale that had no modern precedent in the U.S. — Mr. Homan’s announcement signaled a welcome shift.
Since the immigration crackdown began late last year, federal agents have said that they arrested more than 4,000 people in Minnesota and have shot three, including two American citizens who were killed. Protesters have trailed federal officers through the Twin Cities, blowing whistles to alert people to their presence, and immigration agents have often responded with anger and force. The Democrats who run Minnesota have referred to the operation as an illegal occupation, while Republicans in Washington have accused local officials of obstruction and opened criminal investigations.
About 3,000 agents flooded into the state, outnumbering the police forces in Minneapolis and St. Paul, and their fatal shootings of Renee Good, a mother of three, and Alex Pretti, an intensive-care nurse, set off protests across the country. The Trump administration rushed to cast Ms. Good and Mr. Pretti as domestic terrorists, persisting even when their claims were called into question by videos. Also last month, an agent shot and wounded a Venezuelan man who officials said was in the country illegally and had resisted arrest.
Bipartisan concern about the killing of Mr. Pretti, who was shot Jan. 24, led to something of a tone shift. Gregory Bovino, the Border Patrol commander who had been leading the crackdown, was removed and Mr. Homan was dispatched to Minnesota, where he struck a conciliatory tone.
On Thursday, Mr. Homan thanked by name some of the Minnesota officials who have been singled out for criticism by others in the Trump administration.
“We’ve seen a big change here the last couple weeks,” Mr. Homan said.
Even as officials began meeting behind closed doors, the Trump administration and Minnesota’s leaders remained at odds over policies that limit cooperation on immigration enforcement. Though Minnesota does not have sweeping statewide “sanctuary” measures for immigrants, federal officials have complained about limited access to immigrants held in county jails and about municipal limits on cooperation in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
The Trump administration has repeatedly defended its work in Minnesota as a necessary response to that limited cooperation, as well as to widespread fraud in state welfare programs. State and city leaders filed a lawsuit claiming the operation was an unconstitutional violation of state sovereignty but failed to convince a judge to grant an injunction.
From the beginning of the deployment, residents in the heavily Democratic Twin Cities formed neighborhood chat groups and started informal patrols to monitor and sometimes confront immigration agents. Federal officials said those protesters had often crossed the line into obstruction or violence, and several of them were charged with federal crimes. Activists accused federal officials of systematically using threats, tear gas and physical force against nonviolent protesters and of squelching First Amendment rights. A federal judge briefly imposed restrictions on agents’ actions toward protesters last month, but her ruling was blocked by an appellate court.
The practical effect of Thursday’s announcement remained somewhat unclear. Mr. Homan said last week that he was pulling about 700 agents out of the state. But in the days that followed, many residents and local officials said that immigration agents still seemed to be all around and that the region still seemed to be enmeshed in the crackdown.
The operation in Minnesota followed surges of immigration agents last year to cities including Los Angeles and Chicago, also Democratic-led places whose leaders have been at odds with the president.
Ernesto Londoño is a Times reporter based in Minnesota, covering news in the Midwest and drug use and counternarcotics policy. He welcomes tips and can be reached at elondono.81 on Signal.
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