A small "security force" will stay in Minnesota temporarily as the Trump administration winds down its immigration enforcement operation in the state. White House border czar Tom Homan said so on "Face the Nation" February 15.

Limited number of agents will stay to respond if federal personnel find themselves "surrounded by agitators and things get out of control."

Homan didn't say how many agents would be in this rapid response force. Said he's "hoping" they can be removed "fairly quickly."

Operation Metro Surge Is Ending

This comes days after Homan announced the end of Operation Metro Surge, the immigration mission in Minnesota that drew nationwide and bipartisan backlash after two U.S. citizens got killed by federal officers.

Homan announced the withdrawal and called the operation a success. Touted arrests of 4,000 undocumented immigrants. Some had been charged with violent offenses. Credited the withdrawal to "unprecedented" cooperation between national authorities and Minnesota state and local officials.

"As a result of our efforts here Minnesota is now less of a sanctuary state for criminals," Homan said at a February 12 news conference.

Minnesota Officials Dispute This

State and local officials in Minnesota welcomed the move. But several disputed Homan's claims and said no deals were struck to broaden cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

"We do not enforce federal immigration law, period. We do not cooperate with (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) or any agency around enforcement of federal immigration law," Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said at a news conference after Homan's announcement. "The notion there was a deal is false."

Homan told Fox News that Minnesota officials "ought to be saying thank you."

What Triggered All This

Homan got sent to Minnesota after the killings of Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse, and Renee Nicole Good, a poet and mother of three. Both U.S. citizens. Both killed by federal agents. That triggered nationwide protests and intense scrutiny on the tactics of agents carrying out the administration's deportation agenda.

The outrage led to a shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security. Democrats vowed not to support a funding bill for DHS without reforms to immigration enforcement. Republicans described the demands as unrealistic.

The Mask Debate

One major point of contention is the masks worn by federal agents. Democrats want them removed. Republicans say they're necessary to protect personnel from being doxxed and harassed.

Homan told CBS News he's not part of the ongoing Homeland Security negotiations but said he doesn't "like the masks either." Still called them necessary amid an uptick in threats and assaults on immigration agents.

"These men and women have to protect themselves," he said.

Homan Admits Problems, Makes Changes

Homan has conceded the operation in Minnesota needed reform. In recent statements, he highlighted internal changes he made when he arrived. Refocused enforcement on undocumented immigrants with criminal histories. Dispatched more internal affairs agents "to make sure officers in the field was doing the right thing."

But despite the controversy, Homan hasn't ruled out future surges.

"I think it depends on the situation," he told CBS News. "I have said from day one that, you know, we need to – we need to flood the zone in sanctuary cities with additional agents. The number of agents depend on the situation on the ground, how many known criminal targets are out there, because we know we have a problem with sanctuary cities, because we know they're releasing public safety threats in the public."

He added: "I'm hoping other sanctuary cities look at what happened in Minnesota and how we got to the place we're at, which I think is a good place."

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