On Thursday morning, Border Czar Tom Homan announced the end of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol “surge” to Minnesota. Media are framing the withdrawal as a “surrender.”
But on Thursday afternoon, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is holding a press conference at the southern end of San Diego, just across the border from Tijuana. The timing probably isn’t an accident.
A story posted on the Wired magazine website this week noted that the Department of Homeland Security has been rapidly growing its footprint across the country, but California is high on the list of new and expanded ICE offices:
A Trump administration official recently told WIRED that California and New York are “next” for the type of fraud investigation that culminated in 3,000 ICE agents in Minneapolis. At least seven leasing projects are underway in California. In Sacramento, ICE has installed security features at the John E. Moss building ahead of further expansion. The location is already the site of a Justice Department immigration court. In Irvine, a city in Orange County located an hour’s drive from Los Angeles, ICE is moving into offices on 2020 Main Street, located right next to the airport and a childcare agency. In Van Nuys, a neighborhood of Los Angeles, ICE is expanding its offices at the James C. Corman federal building that also has offices for the IRS and Health and Human Services. Further expansion of ICE offices is also underway throughout the state, in federal buildings in Los Angeles, at San Diego’s Edward J. Schwartz Courthouse and federal building, and in Santa Ana’s federal building.
Other reporting has shown that immigration arrests in border communities of California have already become more frequent: “Government data analyzed by CalMatters show nearly a 1500% increase in arrests for May to October compared to the same time period a year earlier. The arrests occurred in San Diego and Imperial counties, a region the federal government refers to as its San Diego area of responsibility. … In September and October, federal immigration officers arrested more than twice as many people in the San Diego region than they did in all of 2024, according to government data.”
The drawdown in Minnesota probably isn’t about Minnesota, and is likely reflective of a rebalancing of enforcement priorities at DHS rather than being a retreat from Minneapolis. Federal immigration officers are leaving Minnesota in large numbers, but they’re going somewhere else. Noem’s 4:30 ET press conference in San Diego will be worth watching.
The Federalist has asked DHS officials about the destination of ICE and CBP officers leaving Minnesota, but hasn’t received an answer.
