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

Democratic Gov. Tim Walz said Tuesday that he expected Operation Metro Surge, which started in December, to end in “days, not weeks and months,” based on his conversations with senior Trump administration officials.

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

“I have proposed and President Trump has concurred, that this surge operation conclude,” he continued.

Federal authorities say the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement 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.

“The surge is leaving Minneapolis safer,” Homan said. “I’ll say it again, it’s less of a sanctuary state for criminals.”

Homan announced last week that 700 federal officers would leave Minnesota immediately, but that still left more than 2,000 on Minnesota’s streets. Homan said Thursday that the drawdown began this week and will continue next week. He said he plans to stay in Minnesota to oversee the drawdown.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said he had a “positive meeting” with Homan on Monday and discussed the potential for a further drawdown of federal officers.

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.

“We’re very much in a trust but verify mode,” Walz said, adding that he expected to hear more from the administration “in the next day or so” about the future of what he said has been an “occupation” and a “retribution campaign” against the state.

Walz said he had no reason not to believe Homan’s statement last week that 700 federal officers would leave Minnesota immediately, but the governor added that that still left 2,300 on Minnesota’s streets. Homan at the time cited an “increase in unprecedented collaboration” resulting in the need for fewer federal officers in Minnesota, including help from jails that hold deportable inmates.

Karnowski writes for the Associated Press.

Feb. 5 (UPI) — The White House is expected to launch its new prescription drug platform, TrumpRx, on Thursday evening, showcasing the president’s new “most favored nation” drug pricing policy.

President Donald Trump initially announced his plan in September with the launch of the TrumpRx website.

The idea is to sell prescription drugs at lower prices via the website, so that people without insurance can pay less. But users have to pay in cash because the site will not accept insurance.

The White House said at the time in a fact sheet, “foreign nations can no longer use price controls to freeride on American innovation by guaranteeing MFN prices on all new innovative medicines Pfizer brings to market.”

At the time, Pfizer was the only company on board. Since then, Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck, Amgen, Gilead, GSK, Sanofi, Roche’s Genentech, Boehringer Ingelheim, AstraZeneca, EMD Serono and Novartis have joined.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced the event on X.

“TONIGHT AT 7PM: President Trump, Dr. Oz, and National Design Studio Director Joe Gebbia will be officially unveiling TrumpRx — a state of the art website for Americans consumers to purchase low cost prescription drugs. This historic announcement will save millions of Americans money. You won’t want to miss it! Tune in.”