Where things stand
• Leader sidelined: Top Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino and some of his agents are expected to leave Minneapolis today, sources said. DHS has also suspended his access to his social media accounts, a source told CNN. President Donald Trump said he is sending border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota to manage the immigration crackdown in the state.
• Judge’s order: Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons has been ordered to appear in federal court on Friday by a Minnesota judge to explain why he should not be held in contempt for violating an order in the case of a man challenging his detention.
• President shifts tone: Trump said he had “great conversations” with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey yesterday, indicating that a compromise could be reached. Meanwhile, first lady Melania Trump called on Americans to “unify” in the wake of the shooting deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good and the subsequent protests.
Man in case prompting judge to order acting ICE director's appearance in court is “suffering,” attorney says
While a Minnesota judge waits for acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Todd Lyons to appear in federal court this week to answer questions about violating the judge’s order, the man in the case is “suffering” in ICE custody, his attorney said.
Juan Hugo Tobay Robles filed a habeus corpus petition on January 8 challenging his detention, according to court documents.
Robles is currently detained at El Valle Detention Center in Raymondville, Texas.
“He had been detained in El Paso and was transferred a few times in Texas,” Ojala-Barbour said. “He got Covid in custody.”
Robles was detained by ICE agents in Minnesota on January 6, according to Ojala-Barbour.
“He was pulled over on the freeway and arrested by 12 to 13 agents. The agents that arrested him hit him in the back and hurt his hand as they detained him,” the attorney said.
CNN has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment on the case.
Judge Patrick Schiltz, the chief district judge in Minnesota, said in a court filing yesterday that “The Court’s patience is at an end,” and that Lyons must appear in court Friday and explain why he should not be held in contempt for violating the a judge’s order.
Lyons, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and David Easterwood, the acting ICE director in the St. Paul field office, have failed to comply with “dozens of court orders” in recent weeks, Schiltz said in the filing, including scheduling a bond hearing for Robles.
Biden criticizes Trump immigration crackdown in Minneapolis
Former President Joe Biden has criticized the Trump administration’s actions in Minneapolis and called for “full, fair and transparent investigations” into the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
“What has unfolded in Minneapolis this past month betrays our most basic values as Americans. We are not a nation that guns down our citizens in the street. We are not a nation that allows our citizens to be brutalized for exercising their constitutional rights. We are not a nation that tramples the 4th Amendment and tolerates our neighbors being terrorized,” he said in a post on X today.
Biden praised the people of Minnesota for their resilience after the deaths of Good and Pretti, saying they have “reminded us all what it is to be American, and they have suffered enough at the hands of this Administration.”
“Violence and terror have no place in the United States of America, especially when it’s our own government targeting American citizens. No single person can destroy what America stands for and believes in, not even a President, if we — all of America — stand up and speak out,” he said. “We know who we are. It’s time to show the world. More importantly, it’s time to show ourselves.”
“Now, justice requires full, fair, and transparent investigations into the deaths of the two Americans who lost their lives in the city they called home,” he said. “Jill and I are sending strength to the families and communities who love Alex Pretti and Renee Good as we all mourn their senseless deaths.”
Trump and Noem discussed Minnesota immigration agenda during 2-hour Oval Office meeting last night
President Donald Trump met for nearly two hours with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and her senior adviser, Corey Lewandowski, in the Oval Office last night, two sources familiar with the meeting told CNN, after Noem had asked to speak with Trump in person.
The meeting comes as the Trump administration has showed its first signs of retreat in Minneapolis following Saturday’s fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, the second person killed by federal agents in the city this month.
Here’s who was at the meeting and what was discussed, according to sources:
Candid conversation: Trump did not threaten Noem’s or Lewandowski’s jobs during the meeting, the sources said. The group had a frank conversation about how to continue carrying out the president’s immigration agenda in Minnesota amid national backlash — including criticism from some Republicans — and unrest in the state.
Who else was there? Other top Trump officials, including chief of staff Susie Wiles, press secretary Karoline Leavitt and communications director Steven Cheung, also attended the meeting, which was first reported by The New York Times. The White House declined to comment on the meeting, though an official reiterated the president’s support for Noem.
What DHS is saying: Asked about the meeting on Fox News, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said today that Trump and Noem have “had at-length discussions.” She said: “I can’t get into those specifics, but Secretary Noem will continue to oversee, of course, the Department of Homeland Security.” McLaughlin said that Noem is “very happy” that border czar Tom Homan will be overseeing immigration operations in Minneapolis.
CNN’s Kaanita Iyer, Daniel Dale, Priscilla Alvarez, Michael Williams, Holmes Lybrand and Aaron Blake contributed to this report.
Anger grows in Italy over deployment of ICE agents to serve "security role" at Winter Olympics
Across the globe from Minnesota, outrage is growing in Italy over the deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to assist US security operations at the Winter Olympics next month.
Current and former lawmakers have urged Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to intervene to block the agents’ presence in the wake of two fatal shootings during the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.
The US Department of Homeland Security confirmed the reports in a statement to CNN today.
ICE will serve “a security role” at the Olympics, a DHS spokesperson said. “They don’t do immigration enforcement (operations) in a foreign country obviously,” the spokesperson added.
The agency is “supporting” the US diplomatic security service at the Games, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said, later adding that “all security operations remain under Italian authority.”
According to the Associated Press, citing sources, federal agencies have supported security for US diplomats in previous Olympics, including Homeland Security Investigations, which is a part of ICE.
Here are some of the GOP senators calling for an investigation into Alex Pretti's shooting
As criticism mounts over the Trump administration’s response to the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by a federal agent in Minneapolis, some Republican lawmakers are asking the administration to do more.
Here are some of the GOP senators who are calling for an investigation into Pretti’s death:
- Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana
- Sen. Susan Collins of Maine
- Sen. Mike Crapo of Idaho
- Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas
- Sen. John Curtis of Utah
- Sen. Jon Husted of Ohio
- Sen. Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania
- Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas
- Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska
- Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky
- Sen. Pete Ricketts of Nebraska
- Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina
Meanwhile, the chairmen of the Senate and House Homeland Security Committees – Paul and Rep. Andrew Garbarino – are calling for top immigration officials to testify to Congress.
And GOP Rep. Mike Lawler of New York penned a New York Times op-ed calling for “congressional scrutiny” and an “an immigration plan that settles the issue.”
“After 40 years of failure — and, now, two more deaths that did not need to occur — my colleagues and I should feel only more profoundly the responsibility to rebuild trust and act in America’s common interest,” the congressman wrote.
This post has been updated with additional information.
CNN’s Aaron Blake and Annie Grayer contributed to this post.
Hundreds in Minneapolis are protesting the immigration crackdown in their city through song
Scores of people in Minneapolis have taken to the streets to sing while marching against Operation Metro Surge, the federal government’s surge of immigration officers into the city.
One organizer told CNN that people are singing to “grieve,” “feel rage” and “strengthen (themselves).”
Watch Anderson Cooper’s interview with that organizer below:
What began with a small group singing in freezing temperatures has grown into a movement in Minneapolis, where hundreds are gathering to use protest songs as a way to grieve, express fear, and find courage. CNN's Anderson Cooper reports.
Trump turns toward the economy, traveling to Iowa today to deliver a speech
President Donald Trump is expected to travel to Iowa today, heading there later this morning to deliver a speech on the economy in the city of Clive at 4 p.m. ET.
According to his chief of staff Susie Wiles, who spoke to reporters on Air Force One en route to Switzerland last week, the president is expected to start traveling domestically once a week with the frequency increasing as the 2026 midterms approach.
The speech is Trump’s only public engagement today, and it follows yesterday’s self-described “great conversations” with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
“I had two very good talks. I had Jacob Frey and I had Governor Walz,” Trump said this morning on WABC radio’s “Sid & Friends In The Morning.” “They were great calls, so let’s see how they’re reported. But they were very nice calls, very respectful.”
He indicated that a compromise of some kind can be reached regarding immigration enforcement action in the state, emphasizing how the goal is to target criminal undocumented immigrants.
DHS spokeswoman declines to peel back Noem labeling Pretti's actions as domestic terrorism
Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin declined to peel back Secretary Krisi Noem’s characterization of Alex Pretti’s actions on Saturday as domestic terrorism.
McLaughlin deferred to the investigation led by the department and FBI, as well as the internal Customs and Border Patrol review, when pressed in an interview on Fox News Tuesday morning, claiming that Pretti obstructed a federal immigration operation.
“In this situation, we have seen on the ground in Minneapolis a highly coordinated campaign of violence against our law enforcement,” McLaughlin said. “In this case, we saw an individual who, he was armed. He got into a physical altercation with law enforcement. He was in the course of obstructing a federal operation, which is a federal crime.”
Pretti was a lawful gun owner with a concealed carry permit and in video analyzed by CNN, he is not seen brandishing his weapon at federal agents. Video also shows that Pretti was disarmed before a Border Patrol agent shot him multiple times.
“You have the right to practice your first amendment, of course, and your second amendment rights, but do so responsibly and without breaking federal law,” McLaughlin said.
Sen. John Fetterman calls for the firing of DHS Secretary Noem
Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman is calling for DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to be fired.
In a social media post appealing directly to President Donald Trump, Fetterman called for the president to “immediately fire” Noem.
“Americans have died. She (Noem) is betraying DHS’s core mission and trashing your border security legacy,” Fetterman wrote.
“DO NOT make the mistake President Biden made for not firing a grossly incompetent DHS Secretary,” he said, referring to Alejandro Mayorkas.
Minnesota judge orders acting ICE director to appear in court
Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Todd Lyons has been ordered to appear in federal court this Friday and explain why he should not be held in contempt for violating a judge’s order in the case of a man challenging his detention.
Judge Patrick Schiltz, the chief district judge in Minnesota, said in a court filing Monday that “The Court’s patience is at an end,” with the administration, which sent thousands of federal agents to the Minneapolis area for an immigration crackdown.
The administration’s anti-immigration efforts have sparked widespread protests in Minneapolis, particularly after the fatal shooting of two US citizens by federal agents.
The judge said Lyons, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and David Easterwood, the acting ICE director in the St. Paul field office have failed to comply with “dozens of court orders” in recent weeks.
Schiltz pointed to a January 14 order, in which the court ordered Lyons, Noem and Easterwood to provide a man in ICE detention with a bond hearing within seven days or release him from custody. On January 23, the court was notified that the man was still in detention and did not receive a bond hearing, according to the filing.
“The practical consequence of respondents’ failure to comply has almost always been significant hardship to aliens (many of whom have lawfully lived and worked in the United States for years and done absolutely nothing wrong),” Schiltz wrote in Monday’s filing.
The filing was first reported by Politico.
Trump says "great conversations" with Walz and Frey were "very respectful"
President Donald Trump said that he had “great conversations” with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Monday.
“I had two very good talks. I had Jacob Frey and I had Governor Walz,”
Trump said Tuesday morning on WABC radio’s “Sid & Friends in the Morning.” “They were great calls, so let’s see how they’re reported. But they were very nice calls, very respectful.”
“Actually, they were both great conversations,” Trump said. “So, let’s hope that turns out to be so.”
Trump indicated that a compromise of some kind can be reached, emphasizing how the goal is to target criminal undocumented immigrants.
“What we need is their criminals. You know, they have criminals and all I said, just give us your criminals. And if you give us the criminals, it all goes away,” Trump said.
Melania Trump calls for unity after Minneapolis shootings
First lady Melania Trump called on Americans to “unify” in the wake of a pair of federal law enforcement shootings of US citizens in Minneapolis and widespread protests this month.
It has been extremely rare for Trump to address current events during President Donald Trump’s second term but the first lady appeared on Fox News from the White House ahead of the Friday release of her eponymous documentary.
“I’m against the violence. So if, please if you protest, protest in peace, and we need to unify in these times,” Trump said.
Her comments come amid a significant shift in tone from the White House this week as CNN reported that border czar Tom Homan was being dispatched to Minneapolis, with Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino expected to depart the city.
This is what Trump and Walz spoke about in their phone call yesterday
US President Donald Trump and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz spoke over the phone yesterday about the sweeping immigration enforcement operation taking place in the Twin Cities, with both describing the call positively.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said that Walz had called him “with the request to work together with respect to Minnesota.” Describing the discussion as “very good,” the president said that he and Walz “actually, seemed to be on a similar wavelength.”
For his part, Walz said that Trump agreed to consider reducing the number of federal agents in his state, and that the president also pledged to talk to his Department of Homeland Security about ensuring state officials can investigate Saturday’s fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti.
Trump has called for more cooperation from Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, including that they “turn over” all undocumented immigrants incarcerated in the state to federal authorities.
CNN’s Kit Maher and Kaitlan Collins contributed to this reporting.
Dozens arrested outside hotel where Bovino is reportedly staying
Approximately 26 people were arrested last night during a protest outside a suburban Twin Cities hotel, police told CNN.
Video from the Associated Press showed dozens of protesters gathered at the SpringHill Suites in Maple Grove, where they believed top Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino was staying. The protesters used pots, pans and kitchen utensils to make noise outside the building.
Police issued a dispersal order and “those who failed to comply with lawful orders or committed crimes were arrested,” the statement said, before the crowd dispersed by 10 p.m.
Police told CNN they were still processing the arrests and the final number may change.
CNN has reached out to CBP and the DHS for more information. The hotel declined to comment.
A closer look at ICE, the agency at the center of Trump's immigration crackdown
A CNN poll released earlier this month found half of Americans think the US’ Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, known as ICE, is making cities less safe.
At the center of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, ICE says its primary focus is “securing our nation’s borders and safeguarding the integrity of our immigration system.”
Part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the agency has two divisions: Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), which is intended to deport people who are in the US illegally, and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), where agents “launch and pursue investigations into transnational crime.”
During the Biden administration, HSI took steps to rebrand itself and set up its own website to try to distinguish its work from deportations, though this link now redirects back to ICE’s website.
In the last year, the number of ICE agents and officers has more than doubled, going from 10,000 to 22,000, the DHS said at the start of this month. The agency’s annual budget is approximately $8 billion, its website says, and it has more than 400 offices in the US and around the world.
ICE has faced criticism for aggressive tactics used by its agents in enforcing Trump’s immigration policy. People have been pulled from cars, off streets and tackled in courthouses by masked agents.
The heavy-handed tactics have also been used to control crowds at protests, where federal agents have at times used pepper balls, rubber bullets and tear gas to clear demonstrators.
Most DHS agencies do not have standard uniforms, meaning that it can be difficult for the public to work out which agency an officer is working for.
Many ICE officers also wear face coverings, which DHS officials say are necessary to deal with increasing threats against ICE agents, including violence from protesters and doxxing.
Who is Tom Homan, the border czar being deployed to Minnesota?
The White House border czar who President Donald Trump is dispatching to Minneapolis following the fatal shooting of two US citizens is a longtime law enforcement official who has pushed for some of the Trump administration’s controversial immigration-related policies.
The 64-year-old has decades worth of law enforcement experience, beginning his career as a police officer in New York before becoming a Border Patrol agent in California in 1984.
Homan also led Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s deportation efforts during the Obama administration.
As acting director of ICE during Trump’s first term, Homan served as the public face and vocal defender of some of the administration’s most contentious immigration policies, including the separation of children and families who crossed the border.
He said at a public event in September 2017 that his agency would arrest undocumented people who came forward to care for the children, which previous administrations had avoided. He has also virulently opposed “sanctuary city” policies that restrict local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration efforts.
Homan has come under some scrutiny since taking on his current role. The New York Times reported in September that he was recorded by undercover FBI agents in 2024 accepting a bag that contained $50,000 in cash, in an investigation the Trump Justice Department later closed.
A person familiar with the operation had told CNN that Homan accepted the cash as part of a sting operation, and that Homan was being investigated for potential bribery and other crimes after he agreed to help the undercover agents secure government contracts. Homan, meanwhile, has said he didn’t “take $50,000 from anybody.”
The Department of Justice shut down the investigation after Trump began his second term last year over doubts prosecutors could prove Homan had agreed to a specific act in exchange for the cash and because he was not in a government position at the time. The White House later called the investigation into Homan “blatantly political.”
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins and Isabelle D’Antonio contributed to this post.
Bovino will leave Minneapolis as Trump sends the border czar in his place. Here’s what else we know
Top Border Control commander, Gregory Bovino, is expected to leave Minneapolis today as the Trump administration sends in its border czar Tom Homan to lead operations in Minnesota.
Despite anger on the ground, Trump officials say the administration has no plans to change its posture and that federal immigration agents will remain in Minnesota.
If you’re just joining us, here’s what else to know.
- Bovino and some of his agents are leaving Minneapolis and will return to their respective sectors, three sources told CNN. The commander’s departure was a “mutual decision” between him and the White House. He has been stripped of access to his social media accounts, sources say, but has not been removed from his duties.
- A federal appeals court refused to reinstate a judge’s order that sought to put guardrails on how federal agents can operate around peaceful protesters in Minnesota. Separately, another judge did not make an immediate decision on whether to order the Trump administration to suspend Operation Metro Surge.
- President Donald Trump said he and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz are “on a similar wavelength” on immigration enforcement moving forward. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said he also spoke with Trump and the two “agreed the present situation cannot continue.”
- Republican candidate for Minnesota governor Chris Madel says he’s dropping out of the race, telling CNN he cannot be part of the Republican “retribution” going on in his state. Madel’s decision comes as he said too many US citizens in Minnesota have been detained by ICE “due to the color of their skin.”
- The fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by a federal agent has sparked an outpouring of grief and rage, with Pretti’s younger sister saying she’s experiencing a pain “no words can fully capture.” Pretti’s labor union slammed the Trump administration for its “abhorrent rhetoric” on the ICU nurse and demanded a transparent, third-party investigation.
- DHS Secretary Kristi Noem will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 3, according to Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin. Meantime, a DHS funding bill is currently the subject of debate in Congress right now and includes newly negotiated accountability measures for ICE and Customs and Border Protection that Democrats say, in the wake of the shooting, do not go far enough.
Videos show aggression towards civilians exercising their right to record
CNN’s Jake Tapper rolls the tape on ICE agents’ aggression towards civilians exercising their right to record.
CNN's Jake Tapper rolls the tape on ICE agents' aggression towards civilians exercising their right to record.
How Bondi’s voter roll demands are stoking ICE tensions in Minnesota
Attorney General Pam Bondi’s demand that Minnesota hand over sensitive voter registration records to the federal government amid tensions over ICE and immigration enforcement underscores the importance of the administration’s nationwide data grab that is facing resistance in multiple states and has stumbled in the courts.
The Justice Department has already sued Minnesota and 23 other states for the voter data, but Bondi on Saturday urged Gov. Tim Walz to help “bring an end to the chaos,” by turning over the records, among other requests.
The administration has said it wants the full registration records so that they can “help” states “clean” their rolls of ineligible voters. Voter advocates, former DOJ attorneys and at least one federal judge are dubious that’s the administration’s only goal with the data collection.
Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, like many other state officials, has declined to provide the data because he says doing so would violate state and federal privacy laws.
Simon told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Monday that it was “deeply disturbing” to receive Bondi’s letter.
Read more here about the court battles over state voter rolls.
Why this Republican dropped out of the Minnesota governor’s race
Republican Chris Madel talks to CNN’s Erin Burnett about why he is dropping out of the Minnesota governor’s race, saying he cannot be part of a Republican party seeking “retribution.”
Republican Chris Madel talks to CNN's Erin Burnett about why he is dropping out of the Minnesota governor's race, saying he cannot be part of a Republican party seeking "retribution."
