![\"Four](\"https:\/\/platform.vox.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/gettyimages-2259234319.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100\")
\n\tThis story appeared in The Logoff<\/a>, a daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news take over your life. Subscribe here<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n Welcome to The Logoff:<\/strong> The Trump administration says it will remove 700 federal immigration agents from Minneapolis, but there are few signs of the crackdown letting up.<\/p>\n\n What\u2019s happening?<\/strong> The drawdown was announced by President Donald Trump’s \u201cborder czar\u201d Tom Homan on Wednesday and will bring the federal presence in Minneapolis to about 2,000 agents<\/a> \u2014 down from a high of 3,000<\/a>, but still many times greater than the 150 agents who were there prior to the recent surge. <\/p>\n\n It\u2019s the latest step the Trump administration has taken to respond to the rare bipartisan outcry<\/a> caused by the killing of Alex Pretti, which occurred only weeks after Renee Good was also killed by a federal agent. Last week, top Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino was removed from his role as \u201ccommander at large\u201d and left Minnesota; this week, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said DHS would deploy body cameras for federal immigration agents in Minnesota.<\/p>\n\n So far, however, there\u2019s little reason to believe the reduced federal presence will come with a meaningful change in the often violent tactics ICE and CBP agents have used in Minnesota.<\/p>\n\n What\u2019s the context?<\/strong> Trump said last week that the federal government would \u201cde-escalate a little bit\u201d in Minnesota. But since then, we\u2019ve learned that ICE has told its agents they have greater leeway to arrest people without a warrant<\/a>, and scenes like this one<\/a> \u2014 where federal agents surround a vehicle, guns drawn, to arrest observers \u2014 continue to emerge.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n What\u2019s the big picture?<\/strong> For all that the Trump administration makes conciliatory noises after killing two American citizens, it\u2019s not clear that top Trump adviser Stephen Miller\u2019s drive for more immigration arrests<\/a> is compatible with a federal immigration force acting any differently than it has in Minneapolis. As my colleague Eric Levitz recently wrote<\/a>, \u201cthe pursuit of indiscriminate, mass deportation\u201d will inherently involve violating civil liberties at scale. The Trump administration appears set to forge ahead anyway \u2014 just with slightly fewer agents.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n Here\u2019s some good news from the National Weather Service<\/a>: Today marks the halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, which means we\u2019re gaining daylight quickly \u2014 over two minutes a day for the next few months.<\/p>\n\nAnd with that, it\u2019s time to log off\u2026<\/h2>\n\n