Speaking to reporters today, Tom Homan said that the Trump administration will draw down 700 immigration enforcement officers. He said this was as a result of increased coordination between county jails and federal officials.

“This frees up more officers to arrest or remove criminal aliens, more officers taking custody of criminal aliens directly from the jails, means less officers on the street doing criminal operations,” Homan said.

Notably, Homan has not confirmed which sheriffs have agreed to this increased coordination with federal immigration enforcement.

A reminder, the Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC) already facilitate transfers of people who have completed felony sentences in state prisons, when federal agents are present to take custody. But DOC does not operate county jails – where most immigration encounters occur – and many sheriffs across the state choose not to work with ICE.

In Minneapolis, for example, Hennepin County does not notify federal immigration authorities when undocumented immigrants are booked or arrested, and is barred under state law from honoring requests to hold someone past their release time so immigration officers can take custody – known as ICE detainers.

Homan, however, said that he was “not requiring jails to hold people past their normal release time for immigration purposes” while addressing reporters today.