Tom Homan arrived in Minneapolis not as a distant bureaucrat, but as the face of a federal crackdown colliding with a grieving city. Two anti-ICE protesters were dead after confrontations with federal agents, and anger on the streets was matched only by distrust of Washington. Yet Homan framed his mission as both uncompromising and conciliatory: the law would be enforced, but only through what he called “common sense cooperation” with local leaders, sheriffs, and faith communities.

Behind the scenes, he pressed Governor Tim Walz, Mayor Jacob Frey, St. Paul officials, and Attorney General Keith Ellison to quietly reopen channels to ICE, especially through county jails. Homan argued that if they worked with him, tensions could ease and operations could “draw down.” If they didn’t, federal agents would simply stay longer and dig in deeper. For now, Minneapolis stands in a fragile truce—its future hinging on whether that promise of cooperation holds.