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MINNEAPOLIS — <\/span>Gov. Tim Walz said Tuesday that he expects the federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota will end in \u201cdays, not weeks and months,\u201d based on his recent conversations with top Trump administration officials.<\/p>\n The Democratic governor said at a news conference that he spoke Monday with border czar Tom Homan<\/a> and with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles<\/a> on Tuesday morning. Homan took over the Minnesota operation in late January after the second fatal shooting<\/a> by federal officers and amid growing political backlash<\/a> and questions about how the operation was being run.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re very much in a trust but verify mode,\u201d Walz said. He added that he expected to hear more from the administration \u201cin the next day or so\u201d about the future of what he said has been an \u201coccupation\u201d and a \u201cretribution campaign\u201d against the state. <\/p>\n While Walz said he’s hopeful at the moment because \u201cevery indication I have is that this thing is winding up,\u201d he added that things could change.<\/p>\n \u201cIt would be my hope that Mr. Homan goes out before Friday and announces that this thing is done, and they\u2019re bringing her down and they\u2019re bringing her down in days,\u201d Walz said. \u201cThat would be my expectation.\u201d<\/p>\n Officials with the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the governor’s remarks.<\/p>\n Walz said he has no reason not to believe Homan’s statement last week<\/a> that 700 federal officers would leave Minnesota immediately, but the governor added that still left 2,300 on Minnesota’s streets. Homan at the time cited an \u201cincrease in unprecedented collaboration\u201d resulting in the need for fewer federal officers in Minnesota, including help from jails that hold inmates who could be deported.<\/p>\n The governor also indicated that he expects the state will get \u201ccooperation on joint investigations\u201d into the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal officers, but gave no details. That’s been a point of friction<\/a> between federal authorities and state investigators, who complain that they have been frozen out<\/a> of those cases so far with no access to evidence.<\/p>\n Walz called the news conference primarily to denounce the economic impact of the enforcement surge. He spoke at The Market at Malcolm Yards, a food hall where owner Patty Wall said the entire restaurant sector of the local economy has become \u201ccollateral damage\u201d from the surge.<\/p>\n Matt Varilek, the governor’s employment and economic development commissioner, said Malcolm Yards would normally be bustling, but is now struggling because employees and customers are afraid to come due to the crackdown.<\/p>\n \u201cSo it is great news, of course, that the posture seems to have changed at the federal level toward their activities here in Minnesota,\u201d Varilek said. \u201cBut, as the governor said, it\u2019s a trust-but-verify situation. And frankly, the fear that has been sown, I haven\u2019t really noticed any reduction in that.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n