Donald Trump withdraws 700 Ice agents from Minnesota with immediate effect

President Donald Trump's administration has announced it will reduce the number of federal immigration enforcement agents in Minnesota by 700.

White House border czar Tom Homan confirmed about 2,000 agents will remain on the ground in the state.

Mr Homan said he was partially drawing down the deployment because he was seeing "unprecedented" cooperation from Minnesota's elected sheriffs who run county jails.

He told a news conference: "Let me be clear, President Trump fully intends to achieve mass deportations during this administration, and immigration enforcement actions will continue every day throughout this country."

Mr Homan has called on more jails in Minnesota to allow immigration agents to transfer custody of detained migrants, which some of them already do.

However, others, including the main jail in Minneapolis, do not cooperate.

Minneapolis and some other cities prohibit their employees, including police, from asking people about their citizenship or cooperating with federal immigration enforcement.

They argue it threatens public safety of migrants who are victims of or witnesses to crime are afraid to come forward.

More to follow...

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

• US Senator lifts lid personal phone call with Donald Trump about Chagos 'surrender'
• US Congressman accuses Keir Starmer of 'attacking free speech' after report exposes UK's 'copycat censorship laws'
• Russia confirms British soldiers will be 'legitimate targets' if Keir Starmer deploys troops to Ukraine