The ICE shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis marked a turning point in the Trump administration’s crackdown on criminal illegal aliens.

Even those who thought the shootings were somewhat justified soon realized the optics weren’t good. Something had to be done to ensure the enemies of law and order didn’t keep ICE from doing its job, and to allow ICE to do so without portraying federal agents in a negative light.

Before Border Czar Tom Homan arrived in Minnesota, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem moved Border Patrol agents from the southern border to the state to provide security for ICE agents who swarmed in to make arrests. This created anger and fear in some locals and even in politicians who vowed that Minneapolis would defend its status as a sanctuary city even if it meant harboring murderers and rapists. This left Homeland Security and ICE in a precarious position, forced to act alone due to the lack of cooperation from local authorities.

After the shooting of Pretti, national public opinion turned against ICE, but not against the effort to remove illegal aliens from the country. So the president tapped Homan to replace Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, sending Homan to Minneapolis to meet with two Democrats working to inflame the situation — Governor Tim Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey.

It was an interesting choice as Homan is viewed as a no-nonsense, tough negotiator. He’s also been vilified by the Leftmedia and Democrats despite once being given the Presidential Rank Award for Civil Service by former President Barack Obama. The fact that Obama rewarded Homan for his service as associate executive director of ICE’s removal and enforcement operations shows just how far Democrats have gone off the rails.

Homan convinced Walz and Frey to do what they should have been doing all along: Help federal authorities by turning over criminal illegal aliens and controlling protests that had become violent and destructive. Although Frey stated after the meeting that Minneapolis would not enforce immigration laws, Walz pledged to deport criminal illegal aliens already in custody.

After the meeting, Homan posted on X, “We all agree that we need to support our law enforcement officers and get criminals off the streets. While we don’t agree on everything, these meetings were a productive starting point, and I look forward to more conversations with key stakeholders in the days ahead. President Trump has been clear: he wants American cities to be safe and secure for law-abiding residents — and they will be.”

Frey tried to make it seem as if he hadn’t given in to Homan, but peace was restored almost immediately, without the public spectacle of ICE agents on the streets. The meeting was a success, and Homan deserves credit for restoring order.

“Tom Homan is the man of the hour, according to Washington insiders,” write Anna Giaritelli and Christian Datoc at the Washington Examiner. “Those insiders, including senior officials at the White House and Secretary Kristi Noem's Department of Homeland Security, credit the White House border czar with putting out a fiery mess that immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis had descended into under Noem’s leadership, according to eight people who spoke with the Washington Examiner.”

As one retired senior administration official put it, “He absolutely saved the day.”

Although some Republicans and conservatives claimed the administration had caved under pressure after the ICE shootings, the opposite was clear. Homan called the Democrats’ bluff and forced them to collaborate in an operation they tried to stop. The key for Homan and for the administration was to somehow thread a political needle, effectively keeping up efforts to take violent illegals from the streets of Minneapolis while changing the narrative pushed by radical Minnesota politicians and the media.

According to the New York Post, “Homan, who has sought to calm tensions between the White House and state and local officials for two weeks, credited increased local cooperation for the coming drawdown, but warned that far-left agitators could thwart plans to pull out all agents.”

Homan also had to make sure some Republicans critical of the change in tactics realized the mission hadn’t changed.

To prove the administration wasn’t backing down, Homan said ICE agents may be deployed to other American cities. “Homan said he thinks that possibility depends entirely on whether cities with policies shielding illegal immigrants decide to cooperate with federal immigration efforts,” reports Fox News.

Homan told reporters, “We are not surrendering the president’s mission on immigration enforcement. Let’s make that clear.”

Just this week, the Trump administration detailed its plan to expand federal authorities’ ability to detain legal refugees with green cards for additional screening.

Another thing that needed to be addressed was Walz’s outrageous request for the federal government to disburse forgivable loans to cover damages and lost revenue to local businesses, which the governor said was nearly $200 million. Homan correctly responded by pointing out that Democrats opened the border in the first place and that Minneapolis’s sanctuary city status was the root of the problem. He also said that Minnesota should say “thank you” instead of demanding reimbursement.

Less than two weeks after meeting with Walz and Frey, Homan announced that Operation Metro Surge was coming to an end in Minneapolis after nearly 4,000 arrests and as many as 3,000 unaccompanied migrant children being recovered.

Overall, despite two deaths that wouldn’t have occurred had Tim Walz and Jacob Frey worked with authorities from day one, the mission was a success. But it may not have turned out that way had it not been for the efforts of Border Czar Tom Homan. He was able to do what DHS Secretary Kristi Noem or even the White House couldn’t: restore law, order, and peace to Minneapolis.

If Homan can pull this off in other cities, it may be time for another presidential award.