Steve Bannon, who served as White House chief strategist during President Donald Trump's first term, called out the Trump administration's move to end the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) surge in Minnesota, saying, "Tom Homan is a good man, and he's trying to do it, but that's just not going to wash."
He later told Newsweek via text message that there should be "no compromise" on the matter.
White House border czar Tom Homan said the swell of federal immigration enforcement officers into Minnesota is ending, adding that the operation resulted in around 4,000 arrests.
DHS announced Operation Metro Surge in the Minneapolis area in December and have since brought in thousands of federal immigration enforcement officers. In January, two U.S. citizens were fatally shot by federal agents in two separate instances, 37-year-olds Alex Pretti and Renee Good.
Homan's announcement follows weeks of chaos and protest over the mass presence of ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in the North Star State.
Bannon told Newsweek in a text message on Thursday, "Radical Democrats will never meet President Trump halfway--they worked it so 15 million illegal aliens got into the country, and they have zero intention of deporting any of them--including the criminal." He added, "no compromise."
Bannon's comments come after Homan said on Thursday during a news conference that the immigration crackdown in the state had "yielded the successful results" the administration was seeking.
During Thursday's episode of his podcast, The War Room, Bannon said, "Trump is trying to show that he is prepared to accommodate and negotiate. Tom Homan is a good man, and he's trying to do it, but that's just not going to wash.
"Let's be blunt, this is a color revolution. It's not, these are not like peaceful protesters. That was not their whole focus; their whole focus was to surge in, the Marxist jihadist was to surge in, and to kind of break the spirit of ICE and Customs and Border."
In 2022, Bannon, 72, was convicted of defying a subpoena investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol waged by Trump supporters. He served four months in federal prison in 2024. The Department of Justice is seeking to dismiss the conviction, according to legal filings submitted Monday.
Late last month, nationwide anti‑ICE protests emerged across the nation as outrage grew over the deaths of Good and Pretti at the hands of federal agents and the tactics employed during the immigration enforcement surge. In early February, the Trump administration announced a partial pullback, ordering about 700 federal agents to be withdrawn from Minnesota even though thousands remained. On February 10, Minnesota Democratic Governor Tim Walz said the federal immigration crackdown could end within days.
The 2026 midterms give Democrats a chance to claw back seats two years after Trump returned to the White House, winning the Electoral College and national popular vote on a platform emphasizing immigration reform and mass deportations.
Homan, on Thursday: "We've had great success with this operation, and we're leaving Minnesota safer ... I want to thank Governor Walz ... I also want to thank Mayor Frey ... I want to thank Police Chief O'Hara. We've seen a big change here in the last couple weeks. It's all good change."
Minneapolis Democratic Mayor Jacob Frey, on X: "They thought they could break us, but a love for our neighbors and a resolve to endure can outlast an occupation. These patriots of Minneapolis are showing that it's not just about resistance -- standing with our neighbors is deeply American. This operation has been catastrophic for our neighbors and businesses, and now it’s time for a great comeback. We will show the same commitment to our immigrant residents and endurance in this reopening, and I’m hopeful the whole country will stand with us as we move forward."
Minnesota U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, also a Democrat, on X: "Minnesotans stood together, stared down ICE, and never blinked."
Walz, calling for federal accountability on Thursday: "The federal government needs to pay for what they broke here. ... The incredible and immense costs that were borne by the people of this state, the federal government needs to be responsible: You don't get to break things, and then just leave without doing something about it."
A small federal footprint will remain as the Trump administration pulls back the bulk of ICE presence in Minnesota.