The Latest: Federal authorities announce end to Minnesota immigration crackdown

The immigration crackdown in Minnesota that led to mass detentions, protests and two deaths is coming to an end, border czar Tom Homan said Thursday.

"As a result of our efforts here Minnesota is now less of a sanctuary state for criminals," Homan said at a news conference.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement launched Operation Metro Surge on Dec. 1.

Federal authorities say the sweeps focused on the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area have led to the arrest of more than 4,000 people. While the Trump administration has called those arrested "dangerous criminal illegal aliens," many people with no criminal records, including children and U.S. citizens, have also been detained.

About 6 in 10 U.S. adults say President Donald Trump has "gone too far" in sending federal immigration agents into U.S. cities, according to a new AP-NORC poll.

Here's the latest:

The acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement is defending the use of warrants signed just by an ICE officer and not an independent judge to forcibly enter a home to make an arrest.

The Associated Press reported last month that ICE was asserting sweeping power through the use of administrative warrants in its enforcement operations.

Administrative warrants have historically have not been sufficient to overcome Fourth Amendment protections that guard against illegal searches.

Todd Lyons argued there is case law in Minnesota which allows officers to enter a home to catch a fugitive using only an administrative warrant. Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut disputed that.

Blumenthal, who compared the ICE administrative warrants to a permission slip, said they aren't enough to overcome Constitutional protections.

A federal judge agreed Thursday to temporarily block the Pentagon from punishing Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, a former Navy pilot, for participating in a video that called on troops to resist unlawful orders.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled that Pentagon officials violated Kelly's First Amendment free speech rights and "threatened the constitutional liberties of millions of military retirees."

Kelly, who represents Arizona, sued in federal court to block his Jan. 5 censure from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

In November, Kelly and five other Democratic lawmakers appeared on a video in which they urged troops to uphold the Constitution and not to follow unlawful military directives from the Trump administration.

Republican President Donald Trump accused the lawmakers of sedition "punishable by DEATH" in a social media post days later.

Hegseth said Kelly's censure was "a necessary process step" to proceedings that could result in a demotion from the senator's retired rank of captain and subsequent reduction in retirement pay.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was skeptical that U.S. nuclear talks with Iran will lead to a breakthrough but described his meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House as "excellent."

Speaking to reporters Thursday in Washington before boarding a plane to return to Israel, Netanyahu said Trump believes that his terms and Iran's "understanding that they made a mistake the last time when they did not reach an agreement, may lead them to agree to conditions that will enable a good agreement to be reached."

Netanyahu said he "did not hide" his own "general skepticism" about any deal and stressed that any agreement must include concessions about Iran's ballistic missiles program and support for militant proxies.

He added that the conversation Wednesday with Trump, which lasted more than two hours, included a number of other subjects, including Gaza and regional developments but focused on the negotiations with Iran.

The deadly collision between a passenger jet and an Army helicopter over the Potomac River last year is the subject of a Senate Commerce Committee hearing led by its chairman Ted Cruz.

Senators have a specific fix in mind as they question National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy. They want the House to pass a unanimously approved Senate bill to require the use of advanced locator systems in the cockpits of all aircraft around busy airports.

These systems broadcast already location data to the tower but another system the bill would require can receive that information and show pilots the locations of other aircraft. Families of the 67 killed say they could have prevented the collision. Sen. Cruz said he's concerned about talk of exempting regional airlines and private jets from the ROTOR act.

"Flying can only be safe when everyone follows the same standards," Cruz said.

Homendy said American Airlines leads the industry in retrofits to install the warning systems. She said the airline told her it costs less than $50,000 per plane.

The Democratic governor called the crackdown an "unnecessary, unwarranted and in many cases unconstitutional assault on our state."

"It's going to be a long road," Walz told a news conference Thursday. "Minnesotans are decent, caring loving neighbors and they're also some of the toughest people you'll find. And we're in this as long as it takes."

In a slow, moment-by-moment analysis, Sen. Rand Paul showed a video of the death of Alex Pretti during a hearing on the Minnesota immigration enforcement operation.

Paul along with the ranking member Gary Peters of Michigan frequently stopped the video to ask questions of Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott.

At one point, Paul stopped the video and said he didn't see "any resistance" from Pretti. Scott argued that Pretti was "not complying. He's not following any guidance. He's fighting back nonstop."

"Everything was retreat," Paul said, saying he didn't even see a "hint" of aggression on Pretti's part.

"I don't think that's de-escalatory," Paul said, of the officers' actions in the video.

The overnight attacks come as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Moscow was "hesitating" about another round of U.S.-brokered talks on stopping the fighting.

Washington has proposed further negotiations next week between Russian and Ukrainian delegations either in Miami or Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, which was the location of the last meeting, Zelenskyy said late Wednesday.

Ukraine "immediately confirmed" it would attend, he said. "So far, as I understand it, Russia is hesitating," Zelenskyy told reporters in a messaging app interview late Wednesday.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday that another round of talks was expected "soon" but gave no further details.

American officials made no comment on the possibility of further talks as part of a yearlong peace effort by the Trump administration. Zelenskyy said last week that the United States has given Ukraine and Russia a June deadline to reach a deal.

A top Democrat is calling for a watchdog investigation after photographs emerged suggesting the Justice Department has been tracking the search history of lawmakers who are reviewing files from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, asked the Justice Department's inspector general to investigate what he characterized as "spying" on members of Congress who this week have reviewed less-redacted versions of the Epstein files at a department annex and on department-owned computers.

Photographs taken during Attorney General Pam Bondi's hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday showed her holding a binder open to a page that said "Jayapal Pramila Search History" and that listed a series of documents that were apparently reviewed. Pramila Jayapal is a Democratic congresswoman and was among the Judiciary Committee members who pressed Bondi during the hearing about the department's handling of the Epstein files.

Jayapal called it "totally unacceptable" and said lawmakers will be "demanding a full accounting" of how the department is using the search history.

"Bondi has enough time to spy on Members of Congress, but can't find it in herself to apologize to the survivors of Epstein's horrific abuse," Jayapal said in a post on X.

Republican senators sparred with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison in a tense hearing over immigration enforcement in the state.

Ron Johnson of Wisconsin drilled in over the role of activists in protesting immigration enforcement in Minnesota, suggesting Minnesota officials were essentially encouraging them while Josh Hawley of Missouri hammered Ellison over fraud investigations in the state.

At one point, Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio attacked Ellison as a "low caliber" witness.

"A tragedy was going to happen. And you encouraged it," Johnson yelled.

Ellison replied: "Are you asking me for comment, Senator? Because everything you said was untrue."

Trump's approval on immigration hasn't moved since January despite a month of immigration-related turmoil, according to a new AP-NORC poll.

About 38% of U.S. adults approve of Trump's handling of immigration more broadly, in line with a January AP-NORC poll conducted just after the death of Renee Good, the first U.S. citizen in Minnesota killed by federal agents.

The president's overall approval rating has declined slightly since the beginning of his second term and remains low.

Overall, 36% of U.S. adults say they approve of the way Trump is handling the presidency. His approval ratings on the economy and foreign policy are similar to his overall approval and functionally unchanged from January.

The U.S. first lady also urged the warring countries to step up their efforts to safely return children who've been displaced because of the nearly 4-year-old war.

Her announcement Thursday marked the third time she's helped get Russian and Ukrainian children back to their families.

Five children - four boys and one girl, aged 4 to 15 - were reunited with their families in Ukraine, while one child returned to their family in Russia, said Maria Lvova-Belova, the Kremlin's commissioner of children's rights.

Asked about the issue last week, Melania Trump said, "I'm working on it, and we are in the process. So I hope to have success very soon. I will keep you posted."

The destroyer USS Truxtun and the USNS Supply collided Wednesday as the warship was getting a new load of supplies, the U.S. military says.

The maneuver typically has the vessels sailing parallel, usually within hundreds of feet, while fuel and supplies are transferred across the gap via hoses and cables.

U.S. Southern Command said in a statement Thursday that two personnel reported minor injuries after the collision a day earlier and that both are in stable condition. It says both ships now are sailing safely.

The USS Truxtun is a recent addition to the military buildup in the Caribbean, which stands at 12 ships.

The Trump administration has massed the largest military presence in the region in generations before carrying out deadly strikes on alleged drug boats, seizing sanctioned oil tankers and conducing a surprise raid that captured Venezuela's then-president, Nicolás Maduro.

A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from transferring 20 inmates with commuted death sentences to the nation's highest security federal prison.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly ruled late Wednesday that the government cannot send the former death row inmates to the "Supermax" federal prison in Florence, Colorado, because it likely would violate their Fifth Amendment rights to due process.

Kelly cited evidence that officials from the Republican administration "made it clear" to the federal Bureau of Prisons that the inmates had to be sent to ADX Florence - "administrative maximum" - to punish them because Democratic President Joe Biden had commuted their death sentences.

"At least for now, they will remain serving life sentences for their heinous crimes where they are currently imprisoned," wrote Kelly, who was nominated to the bench by President Trump.

In December 2024, less than a month before Trump returned to the White House, Biden commuted the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row, converting their punishments to life imprisonment.

Some activists expressed relief at Homan's comments, even as they warned they didn't believe their fight was over.

"The people of Minnesota have won," said Lisa Erbes, a leader of the progressive protest group Indivisible Twin Cities. "We've beaten them back and we made them leave."

But officials, she said, must be held accountable for the chaos of the crackdown.

"People have died. Families have been torn apart," she said. "We can't just say this is over and forget the pain and suffering that has been put on the people of Minnesota."

At the beginning of a Senate hearing on immigration enforcement in Minnesota, the state's Attorney General, Keith Ellison, asked for an end to the enforcement surge in his state, saying "it's already gone too far."

At the same time in Minnesota, border czar Tom Homan was announcing that it was ending.

But that news didn't make it into the senate hearing for roughly an hour.

At that point, Republican Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford told the panel about Homan's announcement, saying it was probably news that those on the panel hadn't heard yet.

People attending congressional hearings, members of Congress and their staff usually have access to their phones so they can keep up with fast-changing news while hearings are going on. But witnesses giving testimony usually don't look at their phones during the hearings.

Trump is inviting the leaders to talks in Florida at a moment when the administration is spotlighting what it sees as concerning Chinese influence in the region.

The summit was confirmed by a White House official who was not authorized to comment publicly about the yet-to-be formally announced gathering of leaders. It will also come just weeks before Trump is expected to travel to Beijing for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The Trump administration has made it a priority to assert dominance over the Western Hemisphere, where China has long built influence through massive loans and high trade volumes.

The administration last month launched an audacious military operation to oust Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and whisk him and his wife to New York to face federal drug conspiracy charges.

- Aamer Madhani

- Gov. Tim Walz: "The long road to recovery starts now. The impact on our economy, our schools, and people's lives won't be reversed overnight. That work starts today."

- Sen. Amy Klobuchar: "Minnesotans stood together, stared down ICE, and never blinked."

- Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey: "They thought they could break us, but a love for our neighbors and a resolve to endure can outlast an occupation."

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison says it's highly unusual for the state to be shut out of investigations of shootings like they have in the aftermath of the deaths of two Americans.

Ellison is appearing at a Senate hearing to look at immigration enforcement in the state.

He was asked by Democratic Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan about what type of cooperation the state has had with the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department on investigations into the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

"We haven't had any cooperation up until now which is really unusual," Ellison said.

Peters also asked whether the federal government was stonewalling the state and Ellison agreed.

Despite their strong support for Trump, Republicans are increasingly alone in supporting Trump on his immigration enforcement tactics, a new AP-NORC poll finds.

About 6 in 10 independents now say Trump has "gone too far" in deporting immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, an apparent increase from 46% in an AP-NORC poll in April.

Only about 2 in 10 independents have a positive view of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"Having the border shut, that's OK. But what Trump is doing with ICE and Homeland Security? You don't go yanking people out of cars. You don't go shooting people," said independent Rick Kinnett, a 60-year-old Navy veteran from Crawfordsville, Indiana.

Brooke Rollins and HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy, Jr., last month unveiled new dietary guidelines, which back away from long-standing advice to limit saturated fats and urge Americans to choose whole-food sources of saturated fat - such as meat, whole-fat dairy or avocados - while continuing to limit saturated fat consumption to no more than 10% of daily calories.

Those guidelines could have a big impact on U.S. schools districts that receive federal funding for school meals and must follow rules set by the Agriculture Department.

"We expect the actual rules to come out probably in four to six weeks, but we are working very diligently on that right now," Rollins said Thursday. "We want to ensure that we can move very quickly as we're working to get better, more nutritious, more wholesome foods into our schools."

But that still left more than 2,000 on Minnesota's streets. The border czar said Thursday that the drawdown began this week and will continue next week.

He also said he plans to stay in Minnesota to oversee the drawdown.

Homan took over the Minnesota operation in late January after the second fatal shooting by federal immigration agents and amid growing political backlash and questions about how the operation was being run.