Tom Homan says a small ‘security force’ will remain in Minnesota to respond to ‘agitators’

White House border czar won’t defend Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in interview, but declines to answer questions about her reported relationship with top-ranking official NewsWorldAmericasUS politicsTom Homan says a small ‘security force’ will remain in Minnesota to respond to ‘agitators’White House border czar won’t defend Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in interview, but declines to answer questions about her reported relationship with top-ranking officialJohn Bowden in Washington, D.C. Sunday 15 February 2026 20:26 GMTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover‘I’ve not left home in five weeks’: Fear in Minneapolis as ICE agents terrorize cityYour support helps us to tell the storyRead moreSupport NowFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.Read moreDonald Trump’s border “czar” Tom Homan appeared across the Sunday news show circuit and presented a view for the future of immigration enforcement in Minneapolis as the Trump administration says it is withdrawing hundreds of officers from the state and ending an enforcement surge following the deaths of two Americans.Homan recently took over as the top federal immigration enforcement authority on the ground in Minnesota following the removal of Gregory Bovino, ICE’s acting commander, from the role this month. His appointment followed calls from both Democrats and Republicans in Washington for federal officials to shift their tactics and outrage over the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in confrontations with ICE and Border Patrol agents.Though he announced this past week that the surge in Minneapolis was ending, Homan said on Sunday that a force would remain in the city to conduct operations in the future. Homan said that the agents remaining behind would include a “security force” whose purpose would be to stop protesters and others from interfering with ICE and Border Patrol enforcement operations."There will be a small force, a security force...that will respond when our agents are out and get surrounded by agitators,” said Homan. “They will remain for a short period of time to make sure the coordination, the agreements we have with local and state law enforcement stay in place."Homan also said that agents tasked with investigating a fraud scheme in the state will remain, as will a team investigating an incident where activists conducted a protest at a church and were arrested alongside journalist Don Lemon, who was documenting the protest.open image in galleryTom Homan was on CBS's Face the Nation and declined to answer questions about criticism facing Kristi Noem (CBS - Face the Nation)As his role grows in prominence, Homan is also facing questions about tumult reported within the ranks of Donald Trump’s DHS team, and in particular surrounding the ongoing work of Kristi Noem as DHS secretary. Noem is reportedly suspected by Trump and others to be in a relationship with Corey Lewandowski, her de facto chief of staff, which she denies but a factor that nonetheless adds a layer of frustration to a tenure as DHS secretary that has been loudly derided on the Hill, including by some Republicans.Noem, already facing calls for her firing in Washington, was the subject of a Wall Street Journal exposé this week that detailed an agency in a constant state of chaos under her and Lewandowski’s management.The piece cited many problems but also highlighted how the secretary apparently disliked Homan grabbing TV screens over her.“Noem routinely berated staff if she saw Homan on TV and kept track of both their appearances to make sure she was on TV more than him,” the WSJ reported. “On at least one occasion, she asked aides to ensure she drew a bigger crowd at a conference than Homan, who was speaking on a different day.”On Sunday, Homan declined to answer questions about Noem’s tenure as DHS secretary, while not defending her record from calls for her resignation from Congress.“Look; it’s one team, one fight. I’m not playing into that media. They're trying to divide this administration,” Homan claimed, before he admitted that he did not agree with Noem on her decision-making 100% of the time. The border czar claimed that any disagreements he had with Noem were worked out in internal discussions.He added that the record-low number of border crossings spoke