Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino is set to leave Minnesota Tuesday as the Trump administration shakes up its immigration enforcement tactics in the state after another fatal shooting of an American citizen by a federal agent and mounting resistance from the public.
President Donald Trump said he was stationing his border czar, Tom Homan, in charge, after Bovino drew heavy criticism for claiming that Alex Pretti, who was shot dead on Saturday, three weeks after Renee Good was killed by an ICE agent, had been planning to “massacre” law enforcement.
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Homan will report directly to the White House.
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A person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press that Bovino is among the federal agents leaving Minneapolis.
Bovino has led numerous immigration crackdowns in major U.S. cities that have prompted mass demonstrations, including in Los Angeles, Chicago, Charlotte and Minneapolis.
Saturday’s killing of Pretti, which happened the day after Minnesotans called a general strike in protest of ICE, ignited further political backlash from the public, local officials, civil rights advocates and congressional Democrats, who raised fresh questions about the way the federal agency conducts its operations and doubled down on demands that agents leave the state.
People protest against Federal immigration agents on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis).
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“The President must end this operation. Pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now,” Walz added. Trump wrote in a social media post, “We, actually, seemed to be on a similar wavelength.” Walz, in another statement, said his call with Trump was “productive.”
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Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey said Monday that he had spoken with President Trump and, during their conversation, reminded him of the contributions immigrants have made to the city while asking that ICE operations be halted.
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“The president agreed the present situation can’t continue,” he wrote on X.
I spoke with President Trump today and appreciated the conversation. I expressed how much Minneapolis has benefited from our immigrant communities and was clear that my main ask is that Operation Metro Surge needs to end. The president agreed the present situation can’t continue.
— Mayor Jacob Frey (@MayorFrey) January 26, 2026
Trump also addressed the phone call, writing on Truth Social that he had a “very good” phone conversation with Frey.
“Lots of progress is being made!” he added.
Trump also said Homan will meet with Frey on Tuesday to continue the discussions.
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News of Bovino’s departure didn’t stop dozens of protestors from gathering outside a hotel where they believed he was staying, where they blew whistles, banged pots, and one person blasted a trombone. Police watched and kept them away from the hotel entrance.
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Bovino has also been under scrutiny for his attire, particularly his jacket, which some outlets, including The Guardian and the New York Times, have likened to the uniforms worn by German officials under Hitler, a comparison Bovino has denied, and said was a “double standard phenomenon (DSP) surrounding the Border Patrol issued overcoat.”
US Customs and Border Protection Commander Gregory Bovino (C) stands flanked by fellow federal agents during a protest against ICE outside the Bishop Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 15, 2026.
Octavio JONES / AFP via Getty Images) / ALTERNATE CROP
Who is Tom Homan?
, 64, began his career as a police officer in 1984 in New York City, later serving as a border patrol agent in California before joining ICE when it was created in 2003 as the Assistant Special Agent in Charge in Dallas, Texas.
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He headed up ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations arm during the Obama administration.
Homan remained at ICE during Trump’s first presidential term and was appointed border czar in November 2024.
“I will run the biggest deportation operation this country’s ever seen,” Homan said upon his appointment.
Earlier this month, Homan, a proponent of ICE’s recent tactics in Minnesota, said in an X post that Good’s death was a “tragic example” of what happens when “hateful rhetoric and violent attacks against the men and women of ICE and BP” take place.
The incident in Minneapolis today is yet another tragic example of the results of the hateful rhetoric and violent attacks against the men and women of ICE and BP. These brave men and women are forced to conduct law enforcement operations in heightened threat environments every…
— Thomas D. Homan (@RealTomHoman) January 7, 2026
— With files from the Associated Press
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