The Trump administration will end its large-scale immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota after weeks of protests and national scrutiny following the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens.

White House border czar Tom Homan announced Thursday in Minneapolis that the “Operation Metro Surge” effort is being wound down.

“I have proposed, and President Trump has concurred, that this surge operation conclude,” Homan said at a news conference. “A significant drawdown has already been underway this week and will continue to the next week.”

The operation, which brought thousands of federal immigration agents into the state, was launched to increase arrests of people in the country illegally.

Homan said the decision to scale back followed what he described as improved coordination with state and local officials.

“This surge operation and our work here with state and local officials to improve coordination and achieve mutual goals, as well as our efforts to address issues of concern here on the ground, have yielded the successful results we have came here for,” he said. “We are leaving Minnesota safer.”

Minnesota leaders who had criticized the enforcement tactics said the withdrawal marks the beginning of a difficult recovery.

“The long road to recovery starts now,” Gov. Tim Walz wrote on X after Homan’s announcement. “The impact on our economy, our schools, and people’s lives won’t be reversed overnight. That work starts today.”

At a separate news conference, Walz said the state is still grappling with the aftermath.

“It’s going to be a long road,” he said. “Our sense of normalcy was shook to the core. The trauma that’s been inflicted, certainly across an immigrant community, but to every single Minnesotan, is unlike anything we’ve witnessed.”

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who opposed the federal operation, framed the decision as a victory for residents.

“They thought they could break us, but a love for our neighbors and a resolve to endure can outlast an occupation,” Frey wrote on X. “These patriots of Minneapolis are showing that it’s not just about resistance — standing with our neighbors is deeply American.”

The operation drew heightened scrutiny after federal agents fatally shot Renee Macklin Good and Alex Pretti in January. The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division is investigating Pretti’s death.

Homan did not mention either person by name on Thursday but addressed the violence more broadly.

“I don’t want to see any more bloodshed,” he said. “I pray every night for the safety of our law enforcement personnel and the safety of those in the community, whether you’re here legally or illegally. I don’t want to see anybody harmed. If you break the law, we’re going to arrest you.”

Homan said a “small footprint of personnel” will remain temporarily to transition operations back to the local field office.