Where things stand
• On the ground: White House border czar Tom Homan will address the press in Minneapolis after being sent to take the reins on the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota. ICE officers in the state were directed to avoid engaging with “agitators,” and only target “aliens with a criminal history,” according to an internal memo reviewed by Reuters.
• Alex Pretti shooting: Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey said footage showing a clash between Pretti and federal agents over a week before he was killed did not justify the protester’s killing. Federal officers involved in the shooting are on administrative leave per standard protocol, DHS said.
• Trump warning: President Donald Trump again shifted his tone on Minnesota, warning Frey he’s “playing with fire” if Minneapolis doesn’t enforce federal immigration law. Frey has maintained that local authorities will not carry out federal immigration enforcement.
What is an “agitator” and who gets called one?
As Americans across the country demonstrate their opposition to Donald Trump’s immigration offensive, the president and his administration aren’t classifying them as protesters. Instead, they’re calling them “agitators.”
Here’s the backstory on how the word has been used:
- American English authority Merriam-Webster defines “agitator” as “one who stirs up public feeling on controversial issues.” Exactly who is instigating public unrest or stirring up public feeling is a matter of interpretation.
- Throughout US history, the label “agitator” has largely been deployed in one direction — “by the powerful to delegitimate real grievances of the marginalized and oppressed seeking change,” said Aldon Morris, a professor emeritus of sociology at Northwestern University
- Per Morris, the “agitator trope” was used by enslavers to describe abolitionists, by business magnates to characterize labor union organizers and by segregationists to smear Black civil rights activists. (In some instances, so-called agitators appear to have claimed the label as a point of pride.)
- Despite warnings by Martin Luther King Jr., one of the most well-known figures ever to be considered a “rabble rouser” and “outside agitator,” the idea of the “outside agitator” — along with its siblings “paid agitator” and “professional agitator” — has endured.
- Authorities invoked the phrase in 2020 during the Black Lives Matter demonstrations and in 2024 during university campus protests against Israel’s slaughter in Gaza. The word transcends US politics — Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei recently referred to the protesters challenging his regime as “agitators who want to please the American president.”
Read more here.
GOP Sen. Susan Collins says ICE has ended surge in Maine
Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine announced this morning that Immigration and Customs Enforcement has ended its ramped-up presence in her state.
Collins said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who oversees ICE, informed her about the ceased operations. The agency will maintain its routine presence as it has “for many years,” Collins added.
CNN has reached out to DHS and ICE for additional information.
The Maine senator said a day earlier that she spoke with Noem and the White House and asked the secretary to pause ICE operations in Maine and Minnesota.
“I believe they should be reviewed and far more targeted in their scope,” Collins said of the ICE operations Wednesday.
It comes as several Republicans, include Collins, have called for an investigation into the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti amid a backlash over the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown. Some moderate Republicans have even said they’ve lost faith in Noem.
Catch up: Homan to speak as report says ICE officers in Minnesota directed to avoid engaging with “agitators”
White House border czar Tom Homan will address the press in Minneapolis after being sent to take the reins on the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota.
His remarks come after new video has emerged showing a physical clash between Alex Pretti and federal agents 11 days before he was fatally shot by federal agents.
He is also speaking as internal guidance reviewed by Reuters shows ICE officers operating in President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in the state were directed on Wednesday to avoid engaging with “agitators.”
If you’re just joining us, catch up on the latest developments in Minnesota:
- New report on ICE tactics: “DO NOT COMMUNICATE OR ENGAGE WITH AGITATORS,” said an email disseminated by Marcos Charles, the top official in ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division, according to Reuters. The reported new guidance would mark a stark change in operational approach in the wake of two fatal shootings of US citizens by federal agents in the state in recent weeks.
- Video of previous encounter: The Department of Homeland Security told CNN yesterday it is reviewing video footage that shows Pretti kicking a vehicle’s tail light as federal agents are driving away. The agents stop, exit their vehicle and tackle Pretti to the ground. A family attorney told CNN: “Nothing that happened a full week before could possibly have justified Alex’s killing at the hands of ICE on Jan 24.”
- Town hall takeaways: At a CNN town hall last night, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey stood by the city’s sanctuary policies and repeated his demand that federal immigration agents leave the city. Read more takeaways here.
- Trump-Frey spat: President Donald Trump again shifted his tone toward Frey on yesterday, warning that he was “PLAYING WITH FIRE” by not carrying out immigration operations. Previously, Trump said he planned to “de-escalate” the situation, touting “very good” phone calls with Frey and Gov. Tim Walz.
- Attack on Omar: Rep. Ilhan Omar said her alleged attacker will be taken into federal custody today. Capitol Police Chief Michael Sullivan said they are working with the FBI and the US attorney to see if federal charges can be brought. Trump has suggested that the assault on Omar was “probably staged.” Here’s how the congresswoman responded.
- The bill: President Donald Trump’s sweeping deployment of National Guard troops to several major cities across the United States cost taxpayers about $496 million from June through December last year, according to an estimate from the Congressional Budget Office.
CNN's chief legal analyst explains why new Pretti video doesn't change legal case in his shooting
New video shows Alex Pretti clashing with federal agents 11 days before his death. Laura Coates explains why past encounters, even ones that raise new questions, are legally irrelevant to determining whether officers were justified in using deadly force.
Appeals court rules Trump administration decision to end protections for Venezuelans was illegal
A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that the Trump administration acted illegally when terminating legal protections for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans and Haitians working and living in the US, alluding to “real and significant consequences.”
Three presiding judges at the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had exceeded her authority when she ended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for people who fled the two countries for the US, upholding a lower court ruling.
“The Secretary’s actions fundamentally contradict Congress’s statutory design, and her assertion of a raw, unchecked power to vacate a country’s TPS is irreconcilable with the plain language of the statute,” wrote the judges, Kim Wardlaw, Salvador Mendoza and Anthony Johnstone.
They went on to lay out the impact on hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans and Haitians who rely on the status to remain in the US, saying that “the Secretary’s unlawful actions have had real and significant consequences.”
CNN has reached out to DHS for comment.
Some context: Millions of Venezuelans have fled the country mired in a deep economic, political and social crisis. Former President Nicolás Maduro was captured this month by the US and flown to New York to face serious drug charges, deepening the instability.
Haitians were first included in TPS in 2010 after a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 earthquake killed and wounded hundreds of thousands of people. The first Trump administration sought to terminate protections in 2018, but legal challenges kept it afloat.
Soon after taking office, Noem terminated the status granted by the previous administration, saying conditions have improved in Venezuela and Haiti, sparking the present lawsuit.
Multiple people detained at protest outside hotel in Minneapolis
Several people were detained by police during a protest at the Graduate Hilton hotel in Minneapolis on Wednesday, video from FNTV shows.
In the video, protesters are seen making a loud noise with musical instruments and other objects, kept at a distance from the hotel by security barriers and a police cordon.
FNTV reports arrests were made after protesters refused police orders to disperse. CNN has reached out to Minneapolis police for details on the protest and arrests.
Some context: In recent weeks, several Minneapolis-area hotels believed to be housing Border Patrol agents have been targeted by noisy protests as federal agencies continue immigration enforcement operations in the Twin Cities.
Woman who recorded shooting of Alex Pretti through her windshield speaks out
CNN’s Anderson Cooper speaks with Kayla Schultz, who recorded the shooting of Alex Pretti through a car windshield. She’s now speaking out for the first time.
DC bishop reflects on her immigration message to Trump
Bishop Mariann Budde told CNN’s Dana Bash about the immigration crackdown fears she alluded to in her inaugural prayer last year.
In a conversation with CNN's Dana Bash, Bishop Mariann Budde reflected on the immigration crackdown fears she alluded to in her inaugural prayer last year.
ICE officers in Minnesota directed not to interact with "agitators" in new orders, Reuters reports
ICE officers operating in President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota were directed on Wednesday to avoid engaging with “agitators,” according to internal guidance reviewed by Reuters.
The new guidance would mark a stark change in operational approach in the wake of two fatal shootings of US citizens by federal agents in the state in recent weeks, and as White House Border Czar Tom Homan takes over running immigration enforcement operations in the state.
“DO NOT COMMUNICATE OR ENGAGE WITH AGITATORS,” said an email disseminated by Marcos Charles, the top official in ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division, according to Reuters.
“We are moving to targeted enforcement of aliens with a criminal history,” it reads, according to Reuters. “This includes arrests, not just convictions. ALL TARGETS MUST HAVE A CRIMINAL NEXUS.”
The new guidance has not yet been officially announced, and CNN has not reviewed the internal email.
CNN has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the White House regarding the memo.
According to Reuters, under the new guidance outlined in the email, ICE officers will receive megaphones so that they can issue commands to the public and “need to verbalize every step of the arrest process.” It does not describe what sort of actions would trigger commands or what officers should do if commands were not followed.
The guidance also said officers could only target immigration offenders who had a previous criminal history.
ICE officers can run license plate checks for possible targets and should make an arrest if the registered owner of the vehicle is an immigrant with a criminal history, the guidance said, Reuters reports.
ICE will also run the Minnesota operation with Border Patrol acting in a supporting role, the email said, which marks a reversal of policy under Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino, who has since left the state and returned to his position in El Centro, California.
Homan is expected to deliver remarks at a press conference Thursday morning in Minneapolis.
Lawmakers who visited 5-year-old taken by ICE say they are concerned for his wellbeing
Rep. Jasmine Crockett described concerning conditions inside the South Texas Family Residential Center holding 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos when she visited the facility.
The boy was taken from his family’s driveway in a Minneapolis suburb after federal agents apprehended his father this month.
Crockett said the boy and his father did not look well and described the conditions as “worse” than what she has seen in state and federal prisons.
US Rep. Joaquin Castro also met with the boy and his father. Castro recalled the boy’s father telling him the boy had been sleeping a lot and had not been eating well. “He said that he misses his classmates and his family and wants to be back at school,” Castro told CNN.
California lawmaker says he was twice denied entry to ICE detention facility
US Rep. Raul Ruiz said Wednesday that he was twice denied access to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in California, which he said violated his constitutional right to provide oversight of detention centers.
Ruiz told CNN that he was first turned away from the Adelanto ICE Processing Center after being told that a previous three-day notification policy had been extended to seven days.
He said he visited a second time with the requested notice, only to be told on Wednesday that he would need to wait for “confirmation of receipt and consent” before entering.
“Denying me any entrance…is unlawful,” Ruiz said, citing the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024. “And we are disputing these processes in the court,” Ruiz said.
Ruiz was also denied entry to the facility in July last year. That same month, he was one of 12 Democratic members of Congress who filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, accusing it of unlawfully obstructing their efforts to visit these detention centers. The judge ruled in their favor in December.
At that time, ICE and DHS defended the policy as necessary to maintain operational security and safety at facilities, while still permitting congressional oversight under structured conditions.
This month, lawmakers again challenged DHS in court over the Trump administration’s new policy requiring a week’s notice before members of Congress can visit detention facilities.
“I need to provide the observation and oversight in order to work on legislation to create humanitarian standards that will prevent deaths and protect human dignity,” Ruiz told CNN, citing reports of unsanitary conditions and maltreatment.
CNN has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and US Customs and Border Protection for comment.
CNN hosted a town hall in Minnesota last night. Here are the takeaways
At CNN’s town hall, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey stood by the city’s sanctuary policies and repeated his demand that federal immigration agents leave the city.
Frey’s comments come as officials try to tamp down tensions in the wake of the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents.
Here are six takeaways from the town hall:
- “Status needs to change”: Frey said state officials should lead the investigations into the killings of Good and Pretti, and that he wanted the federal operation in the Twin Cities to end. He said a meeting between Homan and state and local officials didn’t end with a commitment to ending the federal effort “on any given timeline.” But he said “there was a general consensus that the present status needs to change.”
- Local enforcement: Frey said the city and its police “are going to do our jobs, not the federal government’s jobs.” That isn’t to say Minneapolis law enforcement wouldn’t cooperate with federal agents to apprehend any criminals, Frey said. But he said he didn’t want police spending their time investigating those who haven’t committed crimes.
- “Questionable” tactics: Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara was critical of federal immigration agents’ tactics in the city, saying that videos of encounters between those agents and local observers “show a lot of methods that are questionable and tactics that just do not appear safe — for agents or community.”
- Prior Pretti clash: Frey watched a video of a prior altercation between Pretti and federal immigration agents, which shows Pretti kicking the taillight of a law enforcement vehicle before being tackled to the ground. Frey said the video did not justify Pretti’s killing.
- GOP lawmakers weigh in: Three Republican Minnesota state lawmakers didn’t absolve the Trump administration for its role in the chaos in Minneapolis, but they said state and local Democratic officials share the blame.
- Pretti probe: Minnesota Attorney General Keith said the federal government’s refusal to release the names of the immigration agents who shot Pretti “feels like a cover-up.”
Officers involved in Pretti shooting placed on administrative leave, according to DHS
Officers involved in the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minnesota were placed on administrative leave on Saturday following the incident, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told CNN.
It is standard protocol for agents involved in shootings to be placed on administrative leave while internal investigations are conducted.
Top Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino told CNN’s Dana Bash in an interview earlier this week that the move was expected.
