The ICE tensions in Minnesota could finally be thawing — after President Trump sent his “border czar” to the state and ordered hard-charging Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino home — in an apparent move to freeze out Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
The major shift — which came hours after Trump had “very good” calls with Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, both Dems — came as criticism mounted over a pair of caught-on-video shootings of American citizens in the city in recent weeks.
Bovino is known for his aggressive, front-line leadership, but has come under scrutiny for claiming Alex Pretti, the 37-year-old armed nurse who was killed by Border Patrol agents on Saturday, was planning to “massacre” immigration officers.
Bovino, along with some Border agents, who were helping to augment the ICE immigration crackdown, were ordered out of the state, sources confirmed to The Post.
Border czar Tom Homan is now in charge of overseeing the situation on the ground, which until now, Noem had been publicly fronting.
Homan’s transfer is a significant action for the Trump administration — though the administration is demanding the Democratic-led state cooperate with federal authorities who are rounding up illegal immigrants.
The White House on Monday even distanced Trump from hot rhetoric from Bovino as well as Noem and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, who had called Pretti and Renee Good — the anti-ICE activist and mom of three shot by an ICE agent earlier this month — domestic terrorists.
Trump has been driving the change, revealing he and Walz are now on the same “wavelength” after weeks of name-calling and bickering.
“Governor Tim Walz called me with the request to work together with respect to Minnesota. It was a very good call, and we, actually, seemed to be on a similar wavelength,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The president also spoke with Frey, who famously told ICE agents to get the “f— out” of his city, saying they had “a very good telephone conversation.” He noted Frey and Homan will be meeting on Tuesday.
Walz – who on Sunday compared Trump’s immigration operation to the Holocaust – called his conversation with the president “productive,” saying Trump agreed to “look into reducing the number of federal agents” in Minnesota.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt outlined the three things the White House wanted in exchange for a reduction in federal agents: turn over all illegal immigrants in state and local custody, promptly hand over any illegal immigrant arrested by local officials, and to work with federal law enforcement in apprehending illegal immigrants wanted for criminal behavior.
Minnesota has become ground zero in Trump’s nationwide immigration crackdown.
A total of 3,000 ICE agents are operating in Minneapolis. A top ICE official told CBS News that federal agents had carried out roughly 3,400 arrests in the area.
But tensions in the city have soared in the wake of Pretti’s shooting.
Footage showed multiple officers pinning Pretti to the ground. There was a shout that he had a gun. An officer is seen removing Pretti’s 9mm handgun — which he had a permit to carry.
As the Border Patrol officer was walking away with the gun, it appeared to discharge. Officers then opened fire on Pretti.
Sources told The Post that DHS is investigating whether the gun fired accidentally, leading the agents to believe Pretti was shooting at them and causing them to pull the trigger.
Follow The Post’s coverage of the shooting of a 37-year-old anti-ICE protester in Minneapolis
Saturday’s shooting took place 17 days after the killing of Good, also 37, after she accelerated her vehicle in the direction of an ICE officer in Minneapolis.
Anti-ICE protests have grown even hotter in the aftermath.
Trump is expecting Homan to cool things down. The Upstate-born ex-ICE director was once honored for his service with a presidential award under President Obama.
“[Homan] has not been involved in that area, but knows and likes many of the people there,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Tom is tough but fair, and will report directly to me.”
The decision sparked questions about Trump’s faith in Noem, who portrayed Pretti and Good as violent agitators.
Homan and Noem are known to have a competitive, tense relationship and are said to barely be on speaking terms. They also differed in their approach. Noem — and Bovino — wanted all illegal immigrants deported in a show of force and deterrence, while Homan wanted to focus on those with criminal records.
Trump is balancing voter approval of his immigration plan with disapproval of how it’s being carried out. A New York Times/Siena poll released on Friday found that 61% of voters said ICE’s tactics had “gone too far.” However, about half of voters supported Trump’s deportation plan and his handling of the border with Mexico.
Political pressure is also building from Republicans on Capitol Hill.
“Officials who rush to judgment before all the facts are known undermine public trust and the law-enforcement mission,” Republican Sen. John Curtis of Utah said in a statement. “I disagree with Secretary Noem’s premature DHS response, which came before all the facts were known and weakened confidence.”
Leavitt, however, backed the DHS secretary and said Noem “still has the utmost confidence and trust of the president.”
She said Noem’s duties include overseeing FEMA, in addition to ICE and Customs and Border Patrol – and Homan has more time to devote.
“We are in the wake of a brutal winter storm where hundreds of thousands of Americans have been impacted by that so Border Czar Homan is in a unique position to drop everything and go to Minnesota to continue having these productive conversations with state and local officials,” she noted.
Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security is examining body camera video footage as part of an internal probe of Pretti’s shooting, officials tell The Post.
Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said the incident was “under review,” with Homeland Security Investigations taking the lead role and “FBI supporting.”
“There is body camera footage from multiple angles which investigators are currently reviewing,” another DHS official also said Monday.
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