President Donald Trump announced Monday that he is dispatching border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota as violent protests continue following a federal immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis.
In a Truth Social post on Jan. 26, Trump said Homan would arrive Monday evening and report directly to him.
“Tom is tough but fair, and will report directly to me,” the president wrote, noting that while Homan has not personally led operations in Minnesota, he has extensive experience working with state and federal officials.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that Homan will play a central role in overseeing Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in the state while also coordinating a major investigation into alleged large-scale fraud.
According to Leavitt, the Trump administration is investigating what it says is “massive, widespread fraud” targeting federal and state entitlement programs in Minnesota—fraud that officials estimate could total billions of taxpayer dollars.
“In addition, Tom will coordinate with those leading investigations into the massive, widespread fraud that has resulted in billions of taxpayer dollars being stolen from law-abiding citizens in Minnesota,” Leavitt wrote on X.
The deployment comes amid weeks of unrest in Minneapolis tied to the Trump administration’s most aggressive immigration enforcement effort to date in the region. The operation has sparked sustained protests and, according to federal officials, deadly confrontations.
On Saturday, a Border Patrol agent fired in self-defense after a man later identified as Alex Pretti allegedly approached officers with a handgun and violently resisted attempts to disarm him, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The incident followed the Jan. 7 fatal shooting of U.S. citizen Renee Good during a separate immigration operation.
Rather than condemn the violence, Democratic congressional leaders escalated tensions by threatening to shut down the federal government.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats would block Department of Homeland Security funding unless Republicans agree to strip funding from the agency.
“Senate Democrats will not allow the current DHS funding bill to move forward,” Schumer said, accusing the Trump administration of misconduct while demanding the bill be rewritten.
Trump, however, showed no signs of retreating.
In a series of posts over the weekend and again Monday, the president said the Minnesota operation was essential to restoring law and order and protecting taxpayers.
“A major investigation is going on with respect to the massive 20 Billion Dollar … Welfare Fraud that has taken place in Minnesota,” Trump wrote, linking the alleged fraud to what he described as “violent organized protests going on in the streets.”
The president also blamed Democratic leadership for the unrest, arguing that lax enforcement and political rhetoric have fueled chaos.
“Tragically, two American citizens have lost their lives as a result of this Democrat-ensued chaos,” Trump said, adding that cracking down on illegal immigration and fraud was a key reason voters returned him to office in 2024.
