tom homan is at the center of a widening gap between what was promised publicly and what federal officials now acknowledge on the record: weeks after the federal government said Operation Metro Surge was over, close to 650 federal agents remain in Minnesota. The discrepancy is becoming a flashpoint in court filings, Senate questioning, and local community backlash—raising new questions about timelines, oversight, and what “regular footprint” means in practice.
What happens when Tom Homan’s 150-agent target collides with a “close to 650” reality?
On Feb. 20, White House border czar Tom Homan said in a interview that the Department of Homeland Security would return to its “regular footprint” of 150 agents in Minnesota by the end of the following week. That statement followed his Feb. 12 announcement that Operation Metro Surge was ending.
Nearly three weeks after federal officials announced that Operation Metro Surge was over, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem testified at a Senate Judiciary hearing on March 3 that close to 650 federal agents remained in Minnesota. The figure came under questioning by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who pressed for clarity on timing: “When are you going to get down to the original footprint as promised to us?” Noem responded: “We’re continuing to work at that, ” adding that additional investigators are in the state examining allegations of fraud in Minnesota.
In the same public discussion of the drawdown, Homan had noted that a “small team of security forces were staying in Minnesota to back up ICE agents in case things get out of hand. ” He also described conditions that could affect when those “security forces” are removed, including cooperation from local law enforcement and completion of the fraud investigation.
What if the court filings become the real scoreboard for federal troop levels?
The most concrete numerical picture beyond Senate testimony comes from federal court filings tied to a lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Minnesota against Noem. The lawsuit alleges that agents racially profiled Somali and Latino people during detainments associated with the operation.
Two declarations filed Feb. 23 by DHS officials estimated just under 600 agents remained in the state, a figure that sits below Noem’s March 3 “close to 650” testimony but still far above the 150-agent “regular footprint” described by Tom Homan.
The declarations were submitted after U. S. District Judge Eric C. Tostrud ordered the government in mid-February to file an affidavit or declaration regarding the drawdown. In one declaration, ICE St. Paul field office director Sam Olson wrote that roughly 407 DHS officers and agents would remain in Minnesota in March, on top of 190 officers Olson said are normally assigned to St. Paul’s ICE field office and cover a five-state area: Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa.
Another declaration from Marty Raybon Sr., Customs and Border Protection’s lead field coordinator for Operation Metro Surge, said CBP would “demobilize” its remaining 67 CBP officers in Minnesota for the federal operation by Feb. 23.
What happens when public skepticism hardens into organized scrutiny?
Even before Noem’s March 3 testimony, the promised drawdown faced skepticism among Minnesota residents and activist groups, who said arrests continued daily, particularly in the suburbs. As official numbers emerged—first through court filings, then through Senate testimony—the mismatch between the promised end-state and the on-the-ground presence has become more difficult to dismiss as a short-term lag.
Erika Zurawski, co-founder of the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC), said she was not surprised by the discrepancies between figures discussed publicly by Homan and figures later acknowledged by Noem. “Were we not surprised to find that the Trump administration lied? Absolutely not, ” Zurawski said. “It’s not just that we weren’t surprised. It’s exactly what we expected. ”
Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security declined to answer questions about discrepancies. A DHS spokesperson said in an email: “For operational security we do not disclose resources or numbers of personnel on the ground. ” That posture—paired with concrete figures submitted in declarations and stated under Senate questioning—sets up a tension between operational secrecy and demands for accountability, especially when “end of operation” messaging is interpreted as a firm drawdown commitment.
What happens next: three plausible paths for the Minnesota drawdown (ET)
| Scenario | What changes | Signal to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Fast convergence to the “regular footprint” | Agent levels move down toward the 150-agent target that was publicly described. | Concrete drawdown confirmation in sworn declarations filed in the federal case and/or clear answers during Senate oversight questioning. |
| Step-down with sustained investigative presence | Numbers decline but remain elevated due to “additional investigators” examining fraud allegations and continued backup “security forces. ” | Ongoing references by DHS leadership to fraud investigations as the rationale for extended staffing in Minnesota. |
| Prolonged elevated presence and intensified legal conflict | Agent numbers remain roughly four times the level that Tom Homan said would remain, while litigation and community backlash continue. | Further court-ordered filings and disputes over detainment practices raised by the ACLU of Minnesota case. |
Each path is bounded by what officials have already stated publicly: Noem’s March 3 testimony about close to 650 agents; declarations estimating just under 600; and the operational caveats Homan described around local law enforcement cooperation and the completion of the fraud investigation.
For readers watching the story develop in real time (ET), the key point is that the most meaningful updates may come not from broad “operation ended” statements, but from oversight moments with hard numbers—Senate testimony, sworn declarations, and judge-ordered disclosures. For El-Balad. com audiences tracking how enforcement policies translate into sustained on-the-ground realities, the Minnesota case shows how messaging, staffing, and oversight can diverge—and why the next measurable milestone is whether the footprint actually returns to the 150-agent level described by tom homan
