Where things stand
• Leader sidelined: Top Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino and some of his agents are expected to leave Minneapolis today, sources said, as President Donald Trump is sending border czar Tom Homan to manage the immigration crackdown in the state. Trump also met with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for nearly two hours last night, according to sources.
• 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.
• 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.
Video shows agents and emergency responders administering aid to Alex Pretti after shooting
Video obtained by The Associated Press show a chaotic scene just moments after Alex Pretti was shot on Saturday.
Some federal agents and emergency responders can be seen attempting to administer aid to Pretti as he lays on the ground.
Warning: Disturbing content.
“Call an ambulance, please, please, we’re all people,” one man can be heard saying to an agent. “I understand but you have to stay out of the way,” an agent replies.
The scene continues to unfold as emergency responders arrive and one person begins chest compressions on Pretti.
Agents and witnesses continue to go back and forth.
“Why don’t you be quiet please?” one agent says. “We’ve witnessed this multiple times in this city,” a man replies. “No, you haven’t,” the agent says. “Yes, we have,” the man replies. “Not by us,” the agent adds.
Agents then attempt to keep bystanders back as police begin putting up yellow caution tape around the scene.
Trump's immigration crackdown led to drop in US growth rate last year, new US Census Bureau data shows
President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration contributed to a year-to-year drop in the nation’s growth rate as the US population reached nearly 342 million people in 2025, according to population estimates released Tuesday by the US Census Bureau.
The 0.5% growth rate for 2025 was a sharp drop from 2024’s almost 1% growth rate, which was the highest in two decades and was fueled by immigration. The 2024 estimates put the US population at 340 million people.
Immigration increased by almost 1.3 million people last year, compared with 2024’s increase of 2.8 million people. If trends continue, the gain from immigrants in mid-2026 will drop to only 321,000 people, according to the Census Bureau, whose estimates do not distinguish between legal and illegal immigration.
Today’s data release comes as researchers have been trying to determine the effects of the second Trump administration’s immigration crackdown after the Republican president returned to the White House in January 2025.
The numbers reflect change from July 2024 to July 2025, covering the end of President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration and the first half of Trump’s first year back in office.
The 2025 numbers were a jarring divergence from 2024, when net international migration accounted for 84% of the nation’s 3.3 million-person increase from the year before. The jump in immigration two years ago was partly because of a new method of counting that added people who were admitted for humanitarian reasons.
“They do reflect recent trends we have seen in out-migration, where the numbers of people coming in is down and the numbers going out is up,” Eric Jensen, a senior research scientist at the Census Bureau, said last week.
Trump says he does not believe Alex Pretti was an "assassin," contradicting top aide
President Donald Trump said today that he does not believe Alex Pretti was acting as an “assassin” in Minneapolis, the most direct contradiction he’s made yet of how some members of his administration described Pretti in the immediate aftermath of his killing.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump was asked about the “assassin” description, which was used on Saturday by deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller.
“No,” Trump said, “not as an — no.”
He turned back after a moment to offer an addendum to his answer.
“With that being said, you can’t have guns. You can’t walk in with guns. You just can’t. You can’t walk in with guns, you can’t do that. But it’s a very unfortunate incident,” he said.
After Pretti was shot to death on Saturday, Miller referred to him as “a would-be assassin” who “tried to murder federal agents,” a claim Vice President JD Vance reposted on social media. Miller was among those who boarded Marine One with Trump on Tuesday as the president headed to Iowa for a speech.
At the White House on Monday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt sought to put distance between those comments and Trump’s feelings. She said she hadn’t heard Trump “characterize Mr. Pretti in that way.”
Trump backs Homeland Security Secretary Noem, says she's not stepping down
President Donald Trump expressed confidence in his homeland security secretary Tuesday, telling reporters at the White House that Kristi Noem is not stepping down.
CNN reported earlier today that Trump met for nearly two hours with Noem and her senior adviser Monday night, as she and the department face backlash over their response to the shooting of another US citizen at the hands of federal agents.
Asked directly whether Noem was going to step down, Trump said, “No,” before moving on to the next question.
The president said that “she’s doing a very good job” when asked again later about Noem.
Trump said border czar Tom Homan, whom the president sent to Minneapolis, is set to meet with Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.
“He’s meeting with the governor, and he’s meeting with the mayor, I think later, and I hear that’s all going very well,” Trump said.
Walz’s office said earlier today he met with Homan and the two “agreed on the need for an ongoing dialogue.”
Trump says he's "going to be watching over" investigation into Pretti shooting
President Donald Trump on Tuesday called for an “honorable and honest” investigation into the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti and said he’d be “watching over it.”
Asked Tuesday whether he believed Pretti’s death was justified, the president indicated that he would be involved with the investigation.
“Well you know, we’re doing a big investigation. I want to see the investigation. I’m going to be watching over it. I want a very honorable and honest investigation. I have to see it myself,” he told reporters while departing the White House for a trip to Iowa.
The president struck a more moderate tone than many of his top lieutenants, some of whom have cast Pretti as a “domestic terrorist.” There has been a shift in tone and strategy from the White House over the past day, with Trump announcing on Monday that he was sending border czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis to replace Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino on the ground.
Walz meets with White House border czar Tom Homan as two agree to "ongoing dialogue"
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s office said he met with White House border czar Tom Homan today and the two “agreed on the need for an ongoing dialogue.”
The Democratic governor said he reiterated Minnesota’s priorities, including “impartial investigations into the Minneapolis shootings involving federal agents, a swift, significant reduction in the number of federal forces in Minnesota, and an end to the campaign of retribution against Minnesota.”
Walz and Homan “will continue working toward those goals, which the President also agreed to yesterday,” the governor’s office said.
The Minnesota Department of Public Safety will be the primary liaison with Homan in ensuring those goals are met, Walz’s office noted.
Some background: President Donald Trump and Walz spoke by phone yesterday in what they both described as a productive conversation. “It was a very good call, and we, actually, seemed to be on a similar wavelength,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, striking a notably conciliatory tone.
In a separate statement, Walz said Trump agreed to consider reducing the number of federal agents in Minnesota and pledged to talk to his Department of Homeland Security about ensuring that state officials can investigate Saturday’s fatal shooting of Alex Pretti.
Bovino is expected to leave Minneapolis today, with border czar Homan taking his place. Catch up on the latest
Three days after the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti by federal agents, Minneapolis residents are still out in the streets protesting the immigration crackdown in their city, and there has been a change in the border officials deployed there.
Sources told CNN that top Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino and some of his agents are expected to leave the city today, with border czar Tom Homan being dispatched there in his place.
For those just joining us, here are some of the latest developments coming out of Minneapolis:
- Sources told CNN that Pretti suffered a broken rib after being tackled by federal officers about a week before his death. Federal immigration officers have been collecting personal information about protesters and agitators in Minneapolis, sources said, and had documented details about Pretti before he was shot to death on Saturday.
- President Donald Trump said he had “great conversations” with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz yesterday. “They were very nice calls, very respectful,” Trump said, indicating that a compromise could be reached regarding his immigration operation in the Twin Cities.
- Trump also met with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and her senior adviser for nearly two hours yesterday, two sources familiar with the meeting told CNN. The group had a frank conversation about how to continue carrying out the president’s immigration agenda in Minnesota amid national backlash, the sources said.
- First lady Melania Trump called on Americans to “unify” while speaking on Fox News about the events in Minneapolis. “I’m against the violence. So if, please, if you protest, protest in peace, and we need to unify in these times,” she said.
- Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Todd Lyons has been ordered to appear in federal court later this week to explain why he shouldn’t be held in contempt for violating a judge’s order in the case of a man challenging his detention. The judge said Lyons, 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.
- 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,” he said in a post on X today.
- About 26 people were arrested last night for protesting outside a hotel where they believed Bovino was staying. The protesters used pots, pans and kitchen utensils to make noise outside the building.
CNN’s Jeff Winter, Priscilla Alvarez, Kit Maher, Alayna Treene, Betsy Klein, Kaanita Iyer, Arlette Saenz and Martin Goillandeau contributed to this reporting.
Pretti broke rib in confrontation with federal agents a week before he was fatally shot, sources tell CNN
Federal immigration officers have been collecting personal information about protesters and agitators in Minneapolis, sources told CNN — and had documented details about Alex Pretti before he was shot to death on Saturday.
It is unclear how Pretti first came to the attention of federal authorities, but sources told CNN that about a week before his death, he suffered a broken rib when a group of federal officers tackled him while he was protesting their attempt to detain other individuals.
The earlier incident started when he stopped his car after observing Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents chasing what he described as a family on foot, and began shouting and blowing his whistle, according to a source who asked not to be named out of fear of retribution.
Pretti later told the source that five agents tackled him, and one leaned on his back — an encounter that left him with a broken rib. The agents quickly released him at the scene.
Pretti was later given medication consistent with treating a broken rib, according to records reviewed by CNN.
DHS did not respond to questions about Pretti’s previous encounter or more details about efforts to collect information on protesters.
A memo sent earlier this month to agents temporarily assigned to the city asked them to “capture all images, license plates, identifications, and general information on hotels, agitators, protestors, etc., so we can capture it all in one consolidated form,” according to correspondence reviewed by CNN.
CNN’s Isabelle Chapman contributed to this report..
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.”
Mourners brave frigid wind chills to pay their respects at memorials for Alex Pretti and Renee Good
Despite subzero temperatures in Minneapolis, mourners continue to gather to honor Alex Pretti and Renee Good at their respective memorials.
At Good’s memorial, a man has set up a fire to help keep people warm.
The locations where Pretti and Good were fatally shot by federal agents are close to each other and not far from where George Floyd was killed by law enforcement in 2020.
View more images from the scenes at the memorials:
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.
