The Department of Homeland Security has addressed reports that Gregory Bovino has been fired following the shooting of Alex Pretti.
ICE and Border Patrol have faced a backlash for their conduct in cities across the US and attitudes towards them have continued to dampen following the shooting of two Americans.
At the start of the year, Renee Good was shot and killed by an ICE officer while at a demonstration, and in the weekend just passed another civilian was shot and killed by Border Patrol, Alex Pretti.
Melania Trump says the US needs to ‘unify’
This has seen more people call for more accountability as many critics have argued that both deaths were completely preventable.
Following the shooting of Pretti, Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino claimed that the agents did a good job and were the ones in danger, contradicting much of the rhetoric around the incident.
Reports have begun circulating suggesting that Bovino has since been fired and the ‘border tsar’ Tom Homan is set to come to the city and take control of the situation on the ground.
Assistant Secretary to the Department of Homeland Security, Tricia McLaughlin, has dismissed the idea that Bovino has been fired.
In a post on X, she wrote: “Chief Gregory Bovino has NOT been relieved of his duties. As press secretary [Karoline Leavitt] stated from the White House podium, [Gregory Bovino] is a key part of the President’s team and a great American.”
CNN said three sources familiar with the situation told them that Bovino and some of his agents will leave Minneapolis today (January 27), but he will not lose his job.
They described it as a ‘mutual decision’ between Bovino and the White House, and that federal agents will remain in Minnesota.
Trump has previously indicated plans to withdraw federal agents from Minnesota.
Following the shooting, Trump told the Wall Street Journal: “At some point, we will leave. We’ve done, they’ve done a phenomenal job. We’ll leave a different group of people there for the financial fraud.”
This is in relation to the ongoing investigations into alleged welfare fraud in the state.
Since this statement, he has also taken to Truth Social and said that progress was being made in Minneapolis.
He wrote: “I just had a very good telephone conversation with Mayor Jacob Frey, of Minneapolis. Lots of progress is being made! Tom Homan will be meeting with him tomorrow in order to continue the discussion.”
Frey confirmed that some federal officers would be leaving the city following his conversation with Trump.
In a post on January 26, 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.
“Some federal agents will begin leaving the area tomorrow, and I will continue pushing for the rest involved in this operation to go.”
Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino has said the agents who shot Alex Pretti did ‘a good job’.
Following the death of Pretti, weeks after Renee Good was shot and killed, fury has erupted across the US.
Video footage of the 37-year-old nurse has shown the moments before and after Pretti was shot while he was at a protest in Minneapolis.
Many of the videos have been circulating on social media and show Pretti attempting to help a woman up from the floor after she was pushed into the snow by an agent.
He is then pepper sprayed and tackled to the ground by multiple agents, before being shot multiple times and being pronounced dead at the scene.
Pretti is believed to have been legally in possession of a firearm, but reports have indicated that he was disarmed by the agents before he was shot and killed.
Many have called for an investigation, all the while condemning ICE and the current tension and atmosphere in America.
In a CNN interview with Dana Bash, the Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino defended the agents’ actions.He said: “The suspect put himself in that situation.
“The victims are the Border Patrol agents there.”
Bovino later added: « I believe that the fantastic training of that our law enforcement partners has prevented any specific shootings of law enforcement.
« So good job for our law enforcement in taking him down before he was able to do that. »
When shown a video of the incident and asked why Pretti was shot after his gun was reportedly taken away by agents, Bovino refused to give a clear answer.
He replied: “Dana, you don’t know that he was unarmed. I don’t know that he was unarmed. That is freeze frame adjudication of a crime scene via a photo.
“That is why we have investigators, that is why we have investigation that is going to answer these questions.”
He added: “We don’t know that agent was taking his gun away. The facts are going to come to light. That is why we investigate.”
Bash shot back: « Well, with respect you say that’s why we investigate, but you’re also drawing other conclusions that sort of fly in the face of waiting for an investigation. »
Bovino was later grilled on social media from individuals who did not feel Bovino was offering any clarifications based on the multiple video vantage points that have been circulating.
While Donald Trump did not explain whether he felt the shooting was justified, he did speak out on it over the weekend.
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal Trump has said: “We’re looking, we’re reviewing everything and will come out with a determination.”
He added: “I don’t like any shooting. I don’t like it.
« But I don’t like it when somebody goes into a protest and he’s got a very powerful, fully loaded gun with two magazines loaded up with bullets also. That doesn’t play good either.”
Tom Homan’s role as border czar explained as Trump sends him to Minnesota
It comes after weeks of unrest and the killing of two people amid heightened ICE activity
Tom Homan, Donald Trump’s ‘border czar,’ has been sent to Minnesota as pressure mounts for a full inquiry into the shooting of Alex Pretti.
Intensive care nurse Pretti was shot and killed on Sunday (January 23) by a federal agent as demonstrations continued against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
The Department of Homeland Security said federal agents fired in self-defence, claiming Pretti was carrying a handgun at the time and was resisting attempts to disarm him.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara later said Pretti was a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry. His family have also denied the claims made by the DHS, saying Pretti was carrying a phone in his hand at the time, not a gun.
In a statement to Kare11, Pretti’s father and mother said Trump’s administration was peddling ‘sickening lies’.
Calls have since been made for a full inquiry to be opened into the incident.
In response, Trump sent former ICE director Homan to the city – a move he claims Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is ‘happy’ about, in a new Truth Social post.
But who exactly is Homan, and what is a ‘border czar’?
What is a border czar?
Days after winning the 2024 election, Trump announced Homan would be appointed to the role under the Trump administration.
Explaining what that meant in a Truth Social post, he said: « I am pleased to announce that the Former ICE Director, and stalwart on Border Control, Tom Homan, will be joining the Trump Administration, in charge of our Nation’s Borders (“The Border Czar”), including, but not limited to, the Southern Border, the Northern Border, all Maritime, and Aviation Security. »
He added: « I’ve known Tom for a long time, and there is nobody better at policing and controlling our Borders.
« Likewise, Tom Homan will be in charge of all Deportation of Illegal Aliens back to their Country of Origin. Congratulations to Tom. I have no doubt he will do a fantastic, and long awaited for, job. »
The role doesn’t require Senate confirmation, so it’s meant to cut across multiple government agencies to speed up decision-making; however, that lack of oversight is also why it’s often controversial.
Who is Tom Homan?
Homan has decades of experience in law enforcement, having begun his career as a New York state police officer and then spending time with US immigration authorities, including as a border patrol agent and supervisor.
In 2013, he was appointed by President Barack Obama to lead enforcement and removal operations at ICE and in 2017, Trump made him acting director of ICE, a position he held until his resignation in 2018 after the Senate never voted on making him the permanent director.
After leaving government, Homan became a Fox News commentator and worked with conservative policy groups.
After the killing of Renee Good earlier in January, Homan told CBS News that he did not want to ‘pre-judge’ the facts but highlighted ‘the brave men and women of ICE are heroes’, adding that ‘like all Americans, our officers have a right to self-defence’.
ICE in Minnesota: a timeline of events
Dec 2025: Trump sends thousands of ICE agents to Minneapolis
In late December 2025, with reports emerging around January 6 (the five-year anniversary of the Capitol Riots), President Donald Trump sent around 2,000 ICE agents into Minneapolis to crack down on immigration.
This was reportedly due to, more specifically, allegations of fraud aimed at Somalian residents.
Jan 7: ICE agent Jonathan Ross kills Renee Good
On January 7, ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed mother-of-three Renee Good at the scene of an ICE raid in southern Minnesota. Good’s car was stopped sideways, in what is believed to have been an attempt to block ICE agents from passing.
As Good went to reverse her vehicle away from the agents, Ross shot her at least two times, once in the face. Good died at the scene.
Jan 7: Protests break out in Minneapolis
Following the killing of Renee Good, protests broke out in Minneapolis that same night. Protests are still ongoing at the time of writing (January 19), and tensions remain high in the twin cities.
Jan 12: Minnesota sues the Trump administration
On January 12, the state of Minnesota filed a motion in federal court to sue the Trump administration in an attempt to block the surge of ICE agents. Minnesota’s Attorney General Keith Ellison said immigration operations have caused ‘chaos and violence’ for millions of people and disrupted their lives.
Jan 13: ICE drags disabled woman from car
On January 13, on a street in Minnesota City, ICE agents were caught on camera dragging an unknown disabled woman from her car. This happened just two blocks from where Good was shot.
The woman shouted at the time: “I’ve been beat up by police before. I’m disabled, I’m trying to go to the doctor up there, that’s why I couldn’t move. I am an autistic disabled person, I’m trying to go to the doctor.”
The Independent reports that ‘tear gas, flash bang grenades and pepper balls were also fired towards the protesters during the stand-off’.
Jan 14: Venezuelan man shot by ICE
A Venezuelan man was shot in the leg by ICE officers on January 14 during an alleged traffic stop. It’s been reported that during the traffic stop, the officer was attacked by another individual in the car with a ‘snow shovel and broom handle’, which is allegedly why they opened fire on two individuals. The man who was shot has not yet been identified.
Jan 15: Trump threatens insurrection
Trump has not reacted well to the protests and took to Truth Social to threaten Minnesota with insurrection. On January 15, he said: “If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT,.”On January 18, officials confirmed that 1,500 soldiers are on standby for deployment to Minneapolis. The troops are currently in Alaska, and no official word has been given to send them in as of yet.
Minnesota officials have asked protesters to stay ‘peaceful’ and ‘orderly’. This comes after Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis told ICE to ‘get the f*ck out’.
