Gov. Tim Walz says federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota could end within days

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz said Tuesday that he expects the federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota will end in “days, not weeks and months,” based on his recent conversations with top Trump administration officials.

The Democratic governor said at a news conference that he spoke Monday with border czar Tom Homan and with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles on Tuesday morning. Homan took over the Minnesota operation in late January after the second fatal shooting by federal officers 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. He added 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.

While Walz said he's hopeful at the moment because “every indication I have is that this thing is winding up,” he added that things could change.

“It would be my hope that Mr. Homan goes out before Friday and announces that this thing is done, and they’re bringing her down and they’re bringing her down in days,” Walz said. “That would be my expectation.”

Officials with the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the governor's remarks.

Walz said he has no reason not to believe Homan's statement last week 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 “increase in unprecedented collaboration” resulting in the need for fewer federal officers in Minnesota, including help from jails that hold inmates who could be deported.

The governor also indicated that he expects the state will get “cooperation on joint investigations” into the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal officers, but gave no details. That's been a point of friction between federal authorities and state investigators, who complain that they have been frozen out of those cases so far with no access to evidence.

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 “collateral damage” from the surge.

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.

“So it is great news, of course, that the posture seems to have changed at the federal level toward their activities here in Minnesota,” Varilek said. “But, as the governor said, it’s a trust-but-verify situation. And frankly, the fear that has been sown, I haven’t really noticed any reduction in that.”

Even as Walz was expressing optimism that the crackdown would end soon, federal officers made a highly visible arrest inside the lobby of the main county building in downtown Minneapolis.

After a short foot chase, ICE officers grabbed a man who had arrived for a court appearance on charges of possessing over 50 pounds of methamphetamine.

The county’s top prosecutor, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, protested that the arrest was “disruptive and disturbing to many” and left staffers in the building afraid to leave their offices for fear of being racially profiled.

The man could go unpunished on the state drug charges if he’s deported first.

“Using local government courthouses for federal civil immigration enforcement interferes with the administration of justice, prevents witnesses from testifying and robs victims of their opportunity to seek justice,” Moriarty said in a statement. She has also objected to earlier arrests by ICE officers of people making court appearances there.

White House border czar Tom Homan holds a news conference at the Bishop Whipple Federal building on Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026 in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Plain clothed federal agents arrest a man after a short foot chase in the lobby of the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis, on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (Anthony Souffle/Star Tribune via AP)

Plain clothed federal agents tackle and arrest a man after a short foot chase in the lobby of the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis, on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (Anthony Souffle/Star Tribune via AP)

Plain clothed federal agents pursue a man through the lobby of the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis before tackling and arresting him, on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (Anthony Souffle/Star Tribune via AP)

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — A masked person with a handgun holster was caught on camera outside Nancy Guthrie’s front door the night she disappeared, images released Tuesday by the FBI show, offering the first major break in a case that has gripped the nation for more than a week.

The person wearing a backpack and a ski mask can be seen in one of the videos tilting their head down and away from a doorbell camera while nearing an archway at the home of the mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie.

The footage shows the person holding a flashlight in their mouth and trying to cover the camera with a gloved hand and part of a plant ripped from her yard.

The videos — less than a combined minute in length — gave investigators and the public their first glimpse of who was outside Nancy Guthrie's home just outside Tucson, but the images did not show what happened to her or help determine whether the 84-year-old is still alive.

FBI Director Kash Patel said the “armed individual” appeared to "have tampered with the camera." The videos were pulled from data on "back-end systems” after investigators spent days trying to find lost, corrupted or inaccessible images, Patel said.

“This will get the phone ringing for lots of potential leads,” said former FBI agent Katherine Schweit. ”Even when you have a person who appears to be completely covered, they’re really not. You can see their girth, the shape of their face, potentially their eyes or mouth. You can see a gait that people around that person may recognize immediately.”

Investigators have said for more than a week that they believe Nancy Guthrie was taken against her will. She was last seen at home Jan. 31 and reported missing the next day. DNA tests showed blood on her porch was hers, authorities said.

She has high blood pressure and issues with mobility and her heart, and she needs daily medication, officials have said.

Until now, authorities have released few details, leaving it unclear if ransom notes demanding money with deadlines already passed were authentic, and whether the Guthrie family has had any contact with the abductors.

Savannah Guthrie posted the new surveillance images on social media Tuesday, saying the family believes she is still alive and offering phone numbers for the FBI and county sheriff. Within minutes, the post had thousands of comments.

Investigators had hoped cameras would turn up evidence right away about how Nancy Guthrie disappeared from her home in an secluded neighborhood. But the doorbell camera was disconnected early on Feb. 1, and while software recorded movement at the home minutes later, she did not have an active subscription, so none of the footage could be recovered, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said.

Heartbreaking messages by Savannah Guthrie and her family shifted from hopeful to bleak as they pleaded with the apparent kidnappers. In a video just ahead of a purported ransom deadline Monday, Savannah Guthrie appeared alone and spoke directly to the public, not the abductor.

“We are at an hour of desperation,” she said Monday. “We need your help.”

Much of the nation is closely following the case involving the longtime anchor of NBC’s morning show.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump watched the new surveillance footage and was in “pure disgust,” encouraging anyone with information to call the FBI.

The FBI this week began posting digital billboards about the case in major cities from Texas to California.

Connor Hagan, a spokesperson for the FBI, said Monday that the agency was not aware of ongoing communication between Guthrie’s family and the suspected kidnappers. Authorities also had not identified any suspects, he said.

Three days after the search began, Savannah Guthrie and her two siblings sent their first public appeal to the kidnappers, telling them “we want to hear from you, and we are ready to listen.”

In the recorded video, Guthrie said her family was aware of media reports about a ransom letter, but they first wanted proof their mother was alive. "Please reach out to us,” they said.

The next day, Savannah Guthrie’s brother again told the kidnappers to reach out "so we can move forward.”

“Whoever is out there holding our mother, we want to hear from you. We haven’t heard anything directly,” Camron Guthrie said.

Then over the past weekend, the family posted another video — one that was more cryptic and generated even more speculation about Nancy Guthrie's fate.

“We received your message, and we understand. We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her,” said Savannah Guthrie, flanked by her siblings. “This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay.”

Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio. Associated Press reporters Darlene Superville in Washington and Ed White in Detroit contributed to this report.

A Pima County Sheriff's Office member stands next to his vehicle in front of Nancy Guthrie's home Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026 in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

FILE - This image provided by the Pima County Sheriff's Department on Feb. 2, 2026, shows a missing person alert for Nancy Guthrie. (Pima County Sheriff's Department via AP, File)

A small vigil grows near Nancy Guthrie‘s house, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026 in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

A woman walks her dog past a Pima county sheriff's vehicle parked in front of Nancy Guthrie's home on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026 in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

A member of the Pima county sheriff's office walks around Nancy Guthrie's home on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026 in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)