MINNEAPOLIS — The Trump administration is ending a massive immigration crackdown that swept across the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and other Minnesota communities, border czar Tom Homan said Thursday, concluding an operation that led to thousands of arrests, angry mass protests and the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens.

The crackdown, which the Department of Homeland Security called its ” largest immigration enforcement operation ever,” became the most prominent flashpoint in the debate over President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts.

The surge of thousands of federal officers changed life across the Twin Cities. Convoys of unmarked SUVs became commonplace in some immigrant neighborhoods, where residents could stumble onto masked men in body armor making arrests and throngs of protesters who filled the air with taunts, insults and shrieking whistles.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation, which flared up into street clashes after federal officers killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, became a major political distraction for the Trump administration. The announcement of a drawdown marked a significant retreat as a new AP-NORC poll found that most U.S. adults say Trump’s immigration policies have gone too far.

Operation Metro Surge, which started in December, resulted in more than 4,000 arrests, Homan told reporters Thursday morning, declaring it a success.

“The surge is leaving Minnesota safer,” he said. “I’ll say it again: It’s less of a sanctuary state for criminals.”

But while the administration portrayed its Minnesota targets as dangerous criminals, many had no criminal records and they included working families, children like 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and U.S. citizens.

In a city with a long history of progressive politics, there was skepticism, along with relief, at Homan’s announcement.

“We will believe it when we see it — and any ICE presence is a threat to everyone’s safety,” Minneapolis City Council Member Aurin Chowdhury said in a statement. “We will be left in the aftermath of destruction, and we will have to pick up the pieces of our communities.”

The surge sent waves of fear through immigrant communities, with children staying home from school or learning remotely, immigrant businesses temporarily shutting down and church pews left empty. Residents delivered thousands of meals to families too afraid to leave home.