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.
• Trump shifts tone on Minnesota: Trump had a call with Gov. Tim Walz yesterday, saying they’re “on a similar wavelength.” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said he also spoke to Trump, whom he said “agreed that the present situation cannot continue.” Frey plans to meet with Homan today.
• Pretti probe: Federal officials have declined to provide details substantiating their claim that an agent fatally shot Alex Pretti in self-defense. Read CNN’s fact check and watch our analysis of videos from several angles.
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."
What to do if ICE shows up at your workplace
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has visited many workplaces over the past year, both at high-profile companies such as Target and Hyundai and at businesses that don’t grab headlines.
Workplace immigration enforcement operations are not new and have occurred under many presidential administrations, according to the American Council on Immigration. But these efforts have proliferated as “part of President Trump’s efforts to increase the detention and deportation of unauthorized noncitizens,” ACI notes.
Legal and HR experts are advising employers to prepare for any potential visitation involving ICE.
Preparation should involve all employees, because they may be the first point of contact once ICE arrives, said Shanon Stevenson, a partner at labor and employment law firm Fisher Phillips, which provides clients with a preparedness checklist that includes some of the following tips:
- Have an immigration point person
- Understand what a warrant permits
- Put up signs marking non-public areas
- Keep a record of what ICE takes
- Make essential information for staff easy to access
Read more here on how experts are advising employers to prepare.
What a potential government shutdown would mean for ICE
The chance of a partial government shutdown by week’s end is growing, as the fate of funding for the Department of Homeland Security and other key government agencies hangs in the balance.
In the wake of the killing of Alex Pretti by a federal agent in Minneapolis, many Democrats say they won’t provide key votes needed to advance the six-bill appropriations package, which comes to the floor Thursday, if it includes the current DHS funding measure.
Last Thursday, seven House Democrats voted with Republicans to fund the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. But in recent days, Democrats are arguing that the DHS funding bill which includes newly negotiated accountability measures for ICE and Customs and Border Protection doesn’t do enough.
If the Senate fails to pass the legislation by midnight on Friday, lawmakers could be headed for an unpredictable and significant shutdown that could affect thousands of government workers across agencies from the Pentagon to air traffic controllers to TSA.
But Democrats may not have much power to actually restrict ICE activities in the event of a shutdown.
What it could mean for DHS: Multiple congressional aides contend that even in a shutdown scenario, ICE would still continue to operate its main functions. The passage of the president’s signature bill last summer also injected tens of billions of dollars into the agency, giving DHS Secretary Kristi Noem wide-ranging power to move money around to carry out the agency’s operations.
Guidance from DHS back in the fall during that last shutdown showed that of the estimated 271,927 DHS employees, just a fraction — 22,862– would be furloughed under their shutdown plan. More than 93% of ICE and CBP workers would be retained during a lapse, according to the plan.
CNN’s Tami Luhby contributed reporting.
Read more about where government funding talks stand after the shooting.
CNN speaks to witnesses who recorded video at the scene of Pretti's shooting
CNN’s Erin Burnett talks to two witnesses who each recorded crucial video at the scene of the deadly ICE shooting of Alex Pretti.
Here's how friends and former patients are remembering Alex Pretti
Alex Pretti, the 37-year-old man killed by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis, worked as an Intensive Care Unit nurse treating veterans –– a job his family and friends told CNN reflected his deep desire to help others.
We’ve also spoken to his former patients, who said they remembered his poignant impact and warmth.
Sara Misner crossed paths briefly with Pretti while he cared for her father, who was suffering from sepsis. She described Pretti as a “wonderful, warm, welcoming presence.”
Former patient Marta Crownhart remembered Pretti as a “kind-hearted” person who treated each patient like they were his only responsibility.
“He was never preoccupied,” the Navy veteran told CNN. “He was always there for you.”
Pretti’s co-worker Dr. Dimitri Drekonja, Chief of Infectious Diseases Section at the Minneapolis VA, said Pretti supported critically ill veterans at the hospital and researched colon cancer.
He told CNN that Pretti “was a great guy” and “such a good nurse.”
As a memorial adorned with candles and flowers grows outside Preble High School in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where Pretti graduated, one of his childhood friends told CNN affiliate WDJT that it wasn’t surprising the nurse worked in a profession devoted to serving others.
“He was someone who was always eager to help, he was a very kind kid, he had a personality and spirit that was just very infectious, and people wanted to be around him,” Travis Vanden Heuvel, who said they met in the Green Bay choir, told WDJT.
At a Green Bay school board meeting on Monday, district leaders held a moment of silence and shared memories of Pretti.
“I can vividly see him in my mind…encouraging the young men around him with his quiet leadership skills,” Susan McAllister, Pretti’s former teacher, told CNN affiliate WLUK.
Bovino and some of his agents are expected to leave Minneapolis today, sources say
Top Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino and some of his agents are expected to leave Minneapolis today and return to their respective sectors, according to three sources, sidelining a key player in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
The move comes after President Donald Trump announced he was dispatching White House border czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis in the wake of the fatal shooting of US citizen Alex Pretti. The White House has said Homan is expected to manage ICE operations in the city. One official said it was a “mutual decision” to have Bovino depart. Some Border Patrol agents are expected to remain in the city, sources said.
The Department of Homeland Security also suspended Bovino’s access to his social media accounts, according to a source. Over the weekend, Bovino had scrapped with lawmakers online, responding to their posts on X about the shooting.
Administration officials were left deeply frustrated this weekend over how Bovino and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem handled the fallout from the killing of Pretti in Minneapolis, sources said. According to one official, Trump spent hours on Sunday and Monday watching the coverage and was unhappy with how his administration was coming across.
Others say that Bovino, who became the face of Trump’s immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota, made matters worse by claiming Pretti intended to “massacre” federal agents. He sat for an interview with CNN and held a news conference Sunday, but neither appearance tamped down criticism of the administration’s response and contradictions, officials told CNN.
Aides were also irked after Noem labeled Pretti a “domestic terrorist” and accused him of brandishing his legally owned firearm, a claim that wasn’t backed up by video evidence.
