President Donald Trump&#8217;s Border Patrol chief announced his immediate resignation Thursday, multiple agency sources told The Daily Wire.
Mike Banks confirmed his exit from the agency to Fox News, but didn&#8217;t offer a clear reason for his departure.
&#8220;It&#8217;s just time,&#8221; Banks told the news outlet.
&#8220;I feel like I got the ship back on course from the least secure disastrous chaotic border to the most secure border this country has ever seen,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Time to pass the reins, 37 years, it&#8217;s time to enjoy the family and life.&#8221;
Banks, who previously served as the Texas &#8220;border czar,&#8221; led the agency through record low illegal border crossings.
In a <a href="https://x.com/AliBradleyTV/status/2054963177574584661" target="_blank" rel="noopener">message</a> to agents Thursday, Banks celebrated the Trump administration&#8217;s accomplishments of securing the border.
&#8220;It was never a goal of mine to become the Chief of the United States Border Patrol but given the opportunity I would do it again 100 times over. What we have accomplished together in the last year and a half is nothing short of amazing,&#8221; Banks said.
&#8220;You, the men and women of the Border Patrol took the United States border from the most chaotic and unsecured border in the history of this great Nation and have delivered the most secure border this country has ever seen. Let me be clear there&#8217;s still lots of work to be done to achieve complete operational control of the Border, but I know we are closer than we have ever been to achieving that goal,&#8221; he added.
Multiple Border Patrol sources said they didn&#8217;t see Banks&#8217; exit coming.
One source said that they were &#8220;caught off guard&#8221; by the news of his departure.
Banks was previously accused of making regular trips abroad to have sex with prostitutes and bragging about it to colleagues, the Washington Examiner <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/investigations/4509505/border-patrol-chief-michael-banks-prostitution-allegations-by-agents/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> in April.
The National Border Patrol Council, the agency&#8217;s union, confirmed that “an allegation was made, was investigated, and the subject was cleared of any misconduct, and yes, he is now in charge of 20,000+ USBP employees,&#8221; according to the Washington Examiner.
Paul Perez, the union&#8217;s president, said Banks had “held senior-level managers accountable, where previous chiefs did not, thereby creating a long list of enemies with an axe to grind.&#8221;
“That someone would anonymously dredge up some unfounded allegation as a means to smear Banks today shows how desperate they are to prevent him from holding people accountable for doing their jobs,” Perez said.
Banks&#8217; departure also comes less than two months after Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin assumed leadership of the department, which oversees Border Patrol.
Mullin assumed the role after Trump demoted Kristi Noem, who was embroiled in multiple scandals.
During her time as secretary, Noem deployed then-Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino to lead aggressive immigration sweeps across the country, making him the face of the mass deportation campaign.
Following the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis by federal immigration authorities, Trump put border czar Tom Homan at the helm of the operations, replacing Bovino, who eventually retired.
Banks first joined Border Patrol in 2000 after serving ten years in the U.S. Navy.
He said he now plans to &#8220;return home to Texas to focus on my family and ranch.&#8221;

DHS Secretary Noem Holds Roundtable Discussion With Texas Ranchers And CBP Personnel In Brownsville, Texas

Trump’s Border Patrol Chief Abruptly Resigns

Border Patrol

Donald Trump

Markwayne Mullin

Hundreds of Border Patrol agents are being pulled from across the country to address an influx of illegal immigrants trying to run from authorities in a Texas border town, multiple Department of Homeland Security sources told The Daily Wire.
At least 200 Border Patrol agents from both the southern and northern borders are being pulled for 30-day volunteer duties to support colleagues in Laredo, Texas, who are trying to chase down the &#8220;gotaways,&#8221; sources said. The number of &#8220;gotaways&#8221; running through Laredo is not public.
&#8220;Everyone from across the country is getting sent there,&#8221; one source said.
A spokesperson for Customs and Border Protection, the agency that oversees Border Patrol, confirmed the deployment, which they characterized as part of their effort &#8220;to continue to secure our border.&#8221;
&#8220;That sector is bordered entirely by river, with no natural barriers to slow illegal crossings, which makes it a target when smuggling routes shift and evolve,&#8221; the spokesperson said, referring to Laredo.
“Thanks to President Trump, we have the most secure border in American history,&#8221; the spokesperson added. &#8220;Thanks to record low crossings, we have the manpower and flexibility to move agents quickly, concentrate resources, and take enforcement action where it matters most.”
Border agents monitor gotaways through sensors and cameras, but the true number isn&#8217;t known. During the Biden administration, the number of known gotaways surged past 2 million illegal immigrants, <a href="https://homeland.house.gov/2024/09/23/startling-stats-factsheet-biden-and-harris-border-crisis-still-wreaking-havoc-at-the-borders-and-in-the-interior/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to the House Homeland Security Committee.
A Border Patrol source stationed along the northern border told The Daily Wire they&#8217;re not volunteering to head south because there&#8217;s not enough manpower to cover the smuggling traffic coming from Canada. While fewer than 600 illegal migrants have been caught crossing the northern border each month since November, some stations find it difficult with fewer agents to cover the largest land crossing in the world.
Border agents stationed in the Laredo border sector were seeing thousands of illegal migrants cross each month under the Biden administration. Now, the numbers are in the hundreds and slightly jumped in March, when agents caught 1,242 illegal migrants.
&#8220;They&#8217;re asking for manpower, they already have close to 2,000 agents on the southern border, so if you&#8217;re having that many gotaways then that&#8217;s a leadership thing,&#8221; the agent said. &#8220;None of us need to go over there because we got our own stations to take care of, that&#8217;s how most of the agents feel.&#8221;
<div>
&#8220;On the northern border, we&#8217;re in small towns that are south of these small cities that are hubs for illegals. There is this massive influx coming out of all of these cities and they&#8217;re coming into small towns so we have to be vigilant of local police resources. Sometimes, you&#8217;re the only agent out in the field and you have to deal with people that are trying to get in pursuits,&#8221; the agent added.
</div>
President Donald Trump has imposed harsher consequences for illegal border crossers, while carrying out a mass deportation campaign. That effort has driven illegal crossings down to historic lows.
More than 8 million illegal immigrants crossed the southern border during the Biden administration, which was releasing them en masse.

EXCLUSIVE: Agents Pulled Nationwide As ‘Gotaways’ Surge In Border Town

Department of Homeland Security

Southern Border

El Centro Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino, who was known for his aggressive roving patrols in major American cities, will soon retire.
Bovino was tapped to lead aggressive raids in Los Angeles, Chicago, Charlotte, New Orleans, and Minneapolis, where he was eventually replaced after the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in January. He soon became the face of the Trump administration&#8217;s mass deportation campaign and was seen walking around cities accompanied by federal agents as they conducted roving patrols.
President Donald Trump replaced Bovino with border czar Tom Homan in the aftermath of the deadly shootings.
After Minneapolis, Bovino was sent back to his post at the border, ending his long reign leading the aggressive immigration sweeps across the country.
While serving as a commander for the at-large operations across the country, Bovino has aligned himself with outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, advocating for increasing arrest numbers and putting on a show of force, as previously reported by The Daily Wire. Homan, however, has long advocated for ditching quotas and focusing on nabbing the worst criminals first.
The Border Patrol official plans to leave the agency at the end of March after serving the agency since the 1990s.
&#8220;The greatest honor of my entire life was to work alongside Border Patrol agents on the border and in the interior of the United States in some of the most challenging conditions the agency has ever faced,” Bovino <a href="https://www.breitbart.com/border/2026/03/16/exclusive-border-patrol-sector-chief-gregory-bovino-to-retire-after-leading-largest-interior-immigration-operations-in-u-s-history/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Breitbart Sunday, adding, “Watching these agents out there giving it their all in some of the most dangerous of environments we have ever faced was humbling.”
Bovino&#8217;s retirement coincides with Noem&#8217;s exit as Homeland Security secretary at the end of the month. Leading up to her firing, Noem faced backlash for tagging Pretti as a domestic terrorist without waiting for a federal investigation into the fatal shooting to conclude.
Bovino also apparently got ahead of an investigation, claiming Pretti intended to &#8220;massacre&#8221; federal agents.
Democratic Illinois Governor JB Pritzker weighed in on Bovino&#8217;s expected exit, writing on X Monday that &#8220;Bovino won&#8217;t just get to walk away,&#8221; adding that &#8220;he will be held accountable and responsible for the damage he&#8217;s done to our nation.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Greg Bovino won’t just get to walk away — he will be held accountable and responsible for the damage he&#8217;s done to our nation.
We won’t forget, and neither should you.
No one is above the law. <a href="https://t.co/s5BUFt7lT1">https://t.co/s5BUFt7lT1</a>
— Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) <a href="https://twitter.com/GovPritzker/status/2033620925963219309?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Border Patrol operating in Minneapolis

He Led The Nation’s Most Aggressive Immigration Sweeps. Now He’s Set To Retire.

Top Border Patrol Official Who Led Aggressive Immigration Raids In Minneapolis Set To Retire

Kristi Noem

Minneapolis

Two officers with the Detroit Police Department were suspended without pay for 30 days on Thursday for calling Customs and Border Protection agents on two separate occasions that resulted in the agents taking suspects into federal custody.
A Detroit Police sergeant and officer were accused by Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison of breaking department policy when they called Border Patrol agents during traffic stops on December 16 and February 9, ABC&#8217;s Detroit affiliate WXYZ <a href="https://www.wxyz.com/news/dpd-officer-sergeant-could-be-fired-after-calling-cbp-on-traffic-stops">reported</a>. Bettison pushed to fire the officers, but the Board of Police Commissioners voted on Thursday to suspend the cops without pay. The officers were initially suspended with pay on February 12.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement <a href="https://x.com/ICEgov/status/2024856403232403816">responded</a> to the development and told the suspended officers in a post on X, &#8220;We have a place for you, patriots.&#8221; Under its message, ICE posted the link to where people can apply to work for the agency.
While Detroit has not officially declared itself a &#8220;sanctuary city&#8221; for illegal immigrants, it effectively acts as on as the police are prohibited from cooperating with federal immigration agents. During the incident earlier this month, Detroit Police sergeant Denise Wallet was called to assist an officer who was dealing with a person who could not speak English. According to Chief Bettison, the sergeant called Border Patrol to help with translation services instead of using the police department&#8217;s translation service line.
Wallet, who has been with the department for 27 years, sued the city after she was suspended. In a complaint, Wallet said that she contacted Border Patrol simply to identify the suspect, &#8220;not to enforce immigration law or to inquire into the subject’s immigration status,&#8221; Michigan Advance <a href="https://michiganadvance.com/2026/02/20/detroit-cop-who-called-border-patrol-sues-city-to-keep-her-job-says-she-did-not-violate-policy/#:~:text=Currently%2C%20Detroit%20Police%20Department's%20policy,for%20translation%20services%20during%20stops.">reported</a>. Wallet&#8217;s action was discovered by the police department during a bodycam audit, which showed the sergeant make &#8220;a verbal comment expressing her disagreement with the DPD policy regarding immigration and collaboration with the federal government.&#8221;
In the complaint, Wallet argues that the police department&#8217;s policy violates federal law, which states that &#8220;no state or local government entity or official may prohibit or restrict any government entity or official from sending to, or receiving from, federal immigration authorities information regarding the citizenship or immigration status of any individual.&#8221; Wallet also argues that her due process rights were violated since she was suspended without being given an opportunity to defend herself.
Leftist Michigan Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib praised Chief Bettison for punishing the police officers.
&#8220;Chief Bettison and I agree that we need to make sure that our community and our residents trust the people who are trying to keep us safe,&#8221; Tlaib said.
Michigan House Republican leader Matt Hall, however, said that the Detroit Police Department&#8217;s action could prompt the state House to review the department&#8217;s policies, saying that firing the officers would be &#8220;unacceptable,&#8221; The Detroit News <a href="https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2026/02/19/michigan-house-detroit-police-officers-being-fired-for-calling-border-agents-immigration-detention/88760280007/">reported</a>.
After the board voted on Thursday to suspend the officers without pay, Bettison said he would no longer pursue firing the officers.
&#8220;This incident should make it clear, however, that as Chief, I will continue to vigorously enforce DPD&#8217;s policies,&#8221; he added.
While Detroit has not seen the same surge in federal immigration operations that cities like Minneapolis and Chicago have experienced, ICE agents <a href="https://bridgemi.com/michigan-government/ice-in-michigan-more-arrests-detainees-and-protests/">routinely arrest</a> suspected illegal immigrants in the Motor City and surrounding area.

Detroit Police

Detroit Police Officers Punished For Cooperating With Border Patrol. ICE Tells Them To Apply For Jobs.

Detroit

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Michigan

Federal immigration agents in several areas of the country have been instructed to stop conducting &#8220;roving patrols,&#8221; where they approach individuals to inquire about their immigration status, multiple Department of Homeland Security sources told The Daily Wire.
In recent days, some Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers making arrests across the country have been told to no longer conduct what are known as &#8220;consensual encounters,&#8221; where feds initiate a voluntary conversation with an individual to determine if they&#8217;re in the country illegally. ICE began employing the tactic as the Trump administration ramped up its mass deportation campaign.
Border Patrol has long used it along the border to catch contraband, illicit goods, or illegal immigrants smuggled into the country.
Ending the tactic is a key demand of congressional Democrats amid ongoing negotiations over funding the Department of Homeland Security. It also comes as President Donald Trump admitted this week that his immigration enforcement efforts may need a “softer touch” following the recent fatal shootings of two anti-ICE activists in Minneapolis.
A formal sweeping policy change on &#8220;roving patrols&#8221; has yet to come down.
ICE sources gave mixed reviews after receiving the orders.
&#8220;Consensual encounters work because we can talk to anyone, and a lot of people that we &#8216;encountered&#8217; are illegal with criminal records,&#8221; one ICE source told The Daily Wire.
&#8220;Targeted arrests are the norm for ICE operations. The consensual encounter approach was hard for a lot of officers who don&#8217;t have the prior Border Patrol experience and [for] quickly determining alienage. I have no problem doing either,&#8221; a second ICE source said.
Another ICE source explained that while &#8220;targeted&#8221; arrests are &#8220;fine,&#8221; they only help track down the illegal immigrants officers &#8220;know about&#8221; since they&#8217;re already on their target lists, adding, &#8220;What about the ones we don&#8217;t [know about]?&#8221;
The Daily Wire reached out to DHS for comment and received a statement from a Customs and Border Protection spokesperson, who said &#8220;no such order was given,&#8221; and that &#8220;CBP will continue to enforce the law in Minneapolis, just as they do across the country.&#8221;
&#8220;Authority under 8 USC [United States Code] 1357 and of course reasonable suspicion are protected by the U.S. Constitution,&#8221; the spokesperson added.
However, the question was about ICE, an agency separate from CBP.
DHS later responded to a follow-up question about any orders given to ICE officers, saying that ICE &#8220;conducts targeted operations to remove public safety threats from this country — any individual illegally in the country is on the table.&#8221;
“There is only one page: the President&#8217;s page. Everyone&#8217;s on the same page,&#8221; the department said.
On Thursday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said ending roving patrols was a key demand of Democrats.
&#8220;You can&#8217;t just pick someone up on the street and put them in a dark prison without any kind of warrant. You can&#8217;t bust someone&#8217;s door down without any kind of warrant. That&#8217;s the Constitution, yet that&#8217;s what&#8217;s going on despicably on the streets of Minnesota and other places,&#8221; Schumer <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-V6sNYB7ORI" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> MSNOW&#8217;s Morning Joe.
Among Democrats&#8217; long list of demands is for federal immigration agents to wear body cameras.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced this week that all federal immigration agents in Minneapolis would receive body-worn cameras and that the Trump administration hopes to do the same nationwide, pending funding.
Federal agents drew backlash for conducting &#8220;consensual encounters&#8221; in Los Angeles when Border Patrol agents showed up at a Home Depot in the City of Angels over the summer. What followed were days of violent protests, where anti-ICE activists blocked highways, set cars ablaze, and hurled concrete blocks at the feds.
A legal battle erupted over the action, which ended with the Supreme Court ruling that ultimately <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/supreme-court-ends-restrictions-on-la-immigration-stops-set-after-agents-swept-up-u-s-citizens" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lifted</a> a lower court&#8217;s restraining order against the roving patrols in Los Angeles.
<div id="attachment_1039867" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1039867" class="size-medium wp-image-1039867" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/GettyImages-2249201230-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/GettyImages-2249201230-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/GettyImages-2249201230-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/GettyImages-2249201230-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/GettyImages-2249201230.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />(Photo by Madison Thorn/Anadolu via Getty Images)</div>
In Minneapolis, similar changes have been made with the arrival of border czar Tom Homan last week. Trump put Homan at the helm of Minneapolis immigration raids, replacing Border Patrol&#8217;s Gregory Bovino, who was known for conducting aggressive &#8220;roving patrols.&#8221;
Homan directed federal agents operating in the Twin Cities to focus on &#8220;targeted&#8221; arrests of illegal immigrants with the worst rap sheets. He has also said that the directive doesn&#8217;t exempt people whose sole crime is being in the country illegally.

Federal Agents Descend On Minneapolis For Immigration Enforcement Operations

Some ICE Agents Ordered To Cut Back On Deportation Tactic Targeted By Dems, Sources Say

Some ICE Agents Told To Stop Conducting Roving Patrols, A Key Demand Of Democrats

Immigration and Customs Enforcement

The following is an edited transcript excerpt of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1906-libs-in-minneapolis-create-their-own-border-patrol?elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowHeadline=Recent+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel">The Michael Knowles Show</a>.
* * *
Liberals in Minnesota have had it with ICE raids and Border Patrol, so they’ve decided to take matters into their own hands with a novel plan to keep the people they don’t want out of their communities.
They are, quite literally, creating a system to control who comes and goes.
In the middle of the road at 32nd and Cedar Avenue in Minneapolis, activists erected a makeshift roadblock, turning the intersection into a roundabout. Cars slowed as drivers noticed. Some honked, others asked questions. One man even brought food for the people standing watch.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Minneapolis roadblock created as safety measure against ICE, residents say" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kpxvfub-gHA?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Credit: @WCCO &#8211; CBS Minnesota/YouTube.com
When asked how it felt to see a community checkpoint in his neighborhood, one local shrugged it off. It felt “fine,” he said. He didn’t have any trouble with people “helping out.”
<blockquote>Wade Haynes has been standing at that corner twice a day for one reason: to stand up against ICE activity and “keep his community safe.” He chose that corner. Others chose other intersections. He found it inspiring. “Wow,” he said. “We’ve got folks out there who are kind of taking care of us, looking out for us.”</blockquote>
Taking care of them? Looking out for them?
Some might say policing their communities.
And the way they’re doing it is by erecting structures in the street on the corners — stopping points. Some might even call them “borders,” staffed by people who check to make sure that only the right people get into the community, and that the people they don’t want stay out.
Many people, including some on the Right, have questioned President Trump’s tactics in Minneapolis. But you can’t argue with results — and the results of the Minneapolis raids are that Trump got anti-ICE liberals to invent Border Patrol.
That’s the beautiful part.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1906-libs-in-minneapolis-create-their-own-border-patrol?elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowHeadline=Recent+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel">WATCH: The Michael Knowles Show</a></h3>
Trump actually trolled the Minneapolis Left into reinventing everything they claim to oppose: border patrol, wall checkpoints, cops, enforcement. “We need our own ICE to deport these ICE agents,” they cry, without a trace of irony.
This is what always seems to happen when utopians on the Left — of all stripes — dream up their perfect society.
They start by declaring that society as it exists is no good:
<blockquote>We’ve got markets. We’ve got people making money. We’ve got private property. We’ve got exploitation — we don’t want any of that, man! 
So what are we going to do? We’re going to move to a commune. A farm in the middle of nowhere. It’s going to be beautiful — not like this city, not like this town. We’re going to live together in harmony. Some people are going to grow the food. Some people are going to bake the bread. Some people are going to watch the kids. It’s going to be amazing. We’re going to have a diversity of labor.</blockquote>
Oh, you mean we’re going to have a market economy?
<blockquote>Well, yeah, but this time it will be perfect. And we’re all going to take care of each other, man.</blockquote>
Oh, you mean like police?
<blockquote>Yeah, man.</blockquote>
And so, without realizing it, they invent society as it has always existed — just with the assumption that this time, they’ll do it right.
<blockquote>That’s the problem with our society, they say. We just didn’t do it right.</blockquote>
And now, in Minneapolis, they’ve reinvented Border Patrol.
It’s so beautiful.
So I say: take them at their word.
Yes, we do need people to keep our communities safe. 
Yes, we do need checkpoints to keep the people we don’t want out. 
Yes, we do need a group of people to take care of the community.
If that’s what they believe, then flood Minneapolis with even more ICE agents, Mr. President.

Minneapolis Liberals Invent Their Own Border Patrol

Communism

Democrats

Leftists

Michael Knowles

Minnesota

Opinion

Every federal immigration officer on the ground in Minneapolis will now have a body camera following two recent fatal shootings of anti-ICE agitators.
The decision comes after President Donald Trump replaced Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino with his border czar, Tom Homan, who took command of immigration operations in Minneapolis last week.
Homan&#8217;s arrival was sparked by the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by a Border Patrol agent and came just weeks after an ICE agent fired fatal shots at Renee Good after she appeared to hit him with her car. It has also led to a more targeted approach for arrests, with agents prioritizing the worst criminals first.
The officer who shot Good recorded the interaction on his phone.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
I just spoke with <a href="https://twitter.com/RealTomHoman?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RealTomHoman</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ICEDirector?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ICEDirector</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CBPCommissioner?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CBPCommissioner</a>. Effective immediately we are deploying body cameras to every officer in the field in Minneapolis.
As funding is available, the body camera program will be expanded nationwide. We will rapidly acquire and deploy body…
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) <a href="https://twitter.com/Sec_Noem/status/2018435428932538861?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 2, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the latest policy change following a conversation with Homan, acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, and Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott, she said in an X post on Monday.
&#8220;Effective immediately, we are deploying body cameras to every officer in the field in Minneapolis,&#8221; Noem said.
She added that the program &#8220;will be expanded nationwide&#8221; &#8220;as funding is available.&#8221;
&#8220;We will rapidly acquire and deploy body cameras to DHS law enforcement across the country,&#8221; she said.
&#8220;The most transparent administration in American history—thank you @POTUS Trump. Make America Safe Again,&#8221; she added.
When Daily Wire White House reporter Mary Margaret Olohan asked the president about Noem&#8217;s announcement, he didn&#8217;t appear to have prior knowledge of the decision.
Still, he said he supports it.
&#8220;It wasn&#8217;t my decision; I leave it to her. They generally tend to be good for law enforcement because people can&#8217;t lie about what&#8217;s happening,&#8221; Trump said during a signing ceremony in the Oval Office on Monday.
&#8220;If she wants to do the camera thing, that&#8217;s ok with me,&#8221; Trump said.
Body-worn cameras for federal immigration agents have become a centerpiece of Congress&#8217; latest battle to fund the Department of Homeland Security since the recent fatal shootings in Minneapolis.
Just days before Pretti was shot, footage originally published by The News Movement showed him kicking in the taillight of a vehicle driven by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis.
The video also showed Pretti spitting on an officer and raising his middle finger to the vehicle before one agent gets out of the vehicle and quickly wrestles him to the ground.
The agents eventually let him go, and he was reportedly left with a broken rib. Pretti appeared to have a gun in his waistband as he walked away.
“A week before Alex was gunned down in the street — despite posing no threat to anyone — he was violently assaulted by a group of ICE agents,” attorney Steve Schleicher, who represents Pretti’s family, told the <a href="https://www.startribune.com/bystander-video-reveals-confrontation-between-alex-pretti-and-federal-agents-11-days-before-killing/601572009" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Minnesota Star Tribune</a> after reviewing the footage.

US-IMMIGRATION-ICE-SHOOTING

Trump Admin ‘Deploying Body Cameras To Every’ Federal Immigration Agent In Minneapolis

Executive

Tom Homan

Trump Administration

U.S.

President Donald Trump said on Friday that video of Alex Pretti&#8217;s altercation with federal agents 11 days before he was shot and killed proves that the Minneapolis man was an &#8220;agitator and, perhaps, insurrectionist.&#8221;
Trump argued that Pretti&#8217;s &#8220;stock has gone way down&#8221; after the video <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/alex-pretti-attacked-immigration-enforcement-days-before-fatal-shooting-video-shows">shows</a> the man confronting federal agents in Minneapolis and kicking out the taillight of a federal vehicle. The video was released by The News Movement earlier this week and published by numerous news outlets.
&#8220;Agitator and, perhaps, insurrectionist, Alex Pretti’s stock has gone way down with the just released video of him screaming and spitting in the face of a very calm and under control ICE Officer, and then crazily kicking in a new and very expensive government vehicle, so hard and violent, in fact, that the taillight broke off in pieces,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115982625271651077">wrote</a> in an early morning Truth Social post. &#8220;It was quite a display of abuse and anger, for all to see, crazed and out of control. The ICE Officer was calm and cool, not an easy thing to be under those circumstances!&#8221;
The footage shows a man yelling and spitting at federal immigration agents on January 13 before he damaged a federal vehicle as it began to drive away. Federal agents then got out of the vehicle and tackled the man to the ground. Pretti&#8217;s family confirmed that it was him in the video.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The Minnesota Star Tribune confirmed with Alex Pretti&#8217;s family that the man in this video is indeed Alex Pretti.
Filmed by <a href="https://twitter.com/thenewsmovement?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@thenewsmovement</a> on January 13, two weeks before Pretti was shot by ICE: <a href="https://t.co/1yLKLApXvB">pic.twitter.com/1yLKLApXvB</a>
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) <a href="https://twitter.com/MaryMargOlohan/status/2016661993671811210?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2026</a></blockquote>
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The Pretti family&#8217;s attorney, Steve Schleicher, said the video shows Pretti getting &#8220;violently assaulted by a group of ICE agents.&#8221; Before the video was released, CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/27/us/alex-pretti-protesters-minneapolis-invs">reported</a> that Pretti broke a rib during an altercation with ICE agents a week before his death. One source who spoke to Pretti after the altercation told CNN, “That day, he thought he was going to die.” Pretti was reportedly released at the scene after the confrontation.
A little over a week later, Pretti was shot and killed in the street by Border Patrol agents after confronting authorities who were conducting an immigration operation. Pretti, who was armed with a 9 mm handgun, got into an altercation with agents as they were pushing demonstrators off the road. Video shows Pretti getting pepper-sprayed before he&#8217;s taken to the ground. Pretti then resists as officers attempt to detain him. The video appears to show one agent taking Pretti&#8217;s gun while he&#8217;s on the ground before two other agents fire around 10 shots in five seconds, killing Pretti.
After the deadly shooting, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called Pretti a &#8220;domestic terrorist,&#8221; a response that sparked criticism from within Noem&#8217;s department, The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/inside-the-trump-administrations-growing-divide-over-mass-deportation-raids?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Jennie+Taer&amp;category=Original&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=Inside+The+Trump+Administration%E2%80%99s+Growing+Divide+Over+Mass+Deportation+Raids">reported</a>. Earlier this week, Trump said he did not believe Pretti was &#8220;acting as an assassin,&#8221; as was suggested by top officials in his administration.
“With that being said, you can’t have guns,&#8221; Trump added. &#8220;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.&#8221;
After another Minneapolis resident, Renee Good, was shot and killed by an ICE officer earlier this month, the Trump administration also labeled her a domestic terrorist. The president, however, later said that &#8220;under normal circumstances,&#8221; Good was likely a &#8220;very, solid wonderful person,&#8221; adding, &#8220;But, you know, her actions were pretty tough.&#8221;

Trump: Video Suggests Alex Pretti May Have Been An ‘Insurrectionist’

CBS late-night host Stephen Colbert on Wednesday night suggested that ICE officers and Border Patrol agents were worse than Nazis.
During his monologue on &#8220;The Late Show,&#8221; Colbert showed a clip of Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, who was discussing Alex Pretti, the leftist protester who was shot and killed by federal agents, with CNN’s Dana Bash.
“Dana, let&#8217;s look at why he was there in the first place,” Bovino said. “Was he simply walking by and just happened to walk into a law enforcement situation and try to direct traffic and stand in the middle of the road and then assault, delay and obstruct law enforcement? Or was he there for a reason? Did he fall victim to that violent and heated rhetoric by a [Minneapolis] Mayor [Jacob] Frey, a [Minnesota] Governor [Tim] Walz? Look, Dana, they&#8217;re trying to portray Border Patrol agents and ICE agents as Gestapo, Nazi and many other words. Did this individual fall victim, as many others have, to that type of heated rhetoric?”
“Do not compare ICE or Border Patrol agents to the Nazis,” Colbert intoned. “That’s an unfair comparison. The Nazis were willing to show their faces.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Stephen Colbert: “Do not compare ICE or Border Patrol agents to the Nazis. That’s an unfair comparison. The Nazis were willing to show their faces.”<a href="https://t.co/JzMbqTO3C9">pic.twitter.com/JzMbqTO3C9</a>
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDailyWire/status/2016860668075422041?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2026</a></blockquote>
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The outgoing host, who recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/anti-trump-late-night-host-stephen-colbert-reveals-date-of-final-show">revealed</a> his last episode will air on May 21, does have a habit of making offensive statements when it comes to conservatives; in November 2022, he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/wash-your-klan-robes-with-your-maga-hat-stephen-colbert-mocks-republicans-after-election-results">mocked</a> Republicans as &#8220;fascists&#8221; and Ku Klux Klan members a day after predictions of a red wave <a href="http://dailywire.com/news/republican-red-wave-stops-at-florida-as-initial-midterm-tallies-leave-house-senate-majorities-in-question/">failed to materialize</a> in the midterm elections.
Colbert, who in May 2022 <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2022/may/18/stephen-colbert-future-republicans-primaries">said</a> the GOP was “choosing its direction for 2022: original recipe nutballs or extra crispy cuckoo cojones,” was giddy when Democrats performed better than expected. “As a performer, there are three things you don’t want to follow: animals, children, or a fascist takeover of your country,” Colbert taunted. “These results is (sic) a crisp nut-punch to Republican optimism leading up to this election.”
Colbert continued, citing headlines he&#8217;d apparently seen on the internet.
“&#8217;The vaunted red wave never hit the shore in mid-term elections,’&#8221; he said. &#8220;‘That’s not a red wave,’ and ‘The red wave was more like a pink splash.’”
“Yes, a pink splash,” Colbert said. “It was a salmon drizzle, a rosy wash. It&#8217;s like what happens when you accidentally wash your Klan robes with your MAGA hat. It&#8217;s just a little pink wash.”
Colbert has demonstrated his contempt for conservatives many times in the past. In March 2022, in the face of soaring gas prices devastating American consumers, Colbert <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/stephen-colberts-elitism-on-soaring-gas-prices-hell-ill-pay-15-a-gallon-because-i-drive-a-tesla/">mocked</a> struggling average Joes and said it was part of the price of backing Ukraine in its war with Russia.
&#8220;Today, the average gas price in America hit an all-time record high of over $4 a gallon,&#8221; he said. &#8220;OK, that stings, but a clean conscience is worth a buck or two. It’s important. I’m willing to pay $4/gallon. Hell, I’ll pay $15 a gallon because I drive a Tesla.”
Back in May 2019, the cold open for his show opened by mocking farmers, intimating that if their finances were hurt by President Trump’s tariffs targeting China, they would lose their wives to convicts, start stripping for a living, become alcoholics, and turn to growing marijuana.
The show began by playing a clip from a CNN report that claimed President Trump’s “trade war [is] having a major impact on American farmers after talks with China have halted. Some farmers seem to be losing hope.” That was followed by a clip of a farmer who said he had voted for Trump in 2016 but would not do so again.
The show then aired a cartoon titled “The Farmer in the Dell,” based on the famous children’s song, but this time with new lyrics, accompanied by the visuals in the cartoon:
<blockquote>
Tariffs posed by Trump 
Put the farmers in a dump 
Oh no, the derry-o, the farmer’s in a slump. 
The farmer lost his wife. 
She wants a better life. 
She ran off with an ex-convict who rides a b****in’ bike. 
The farmer needs a job. 
He’s stripping while he sobs. 
Hi-ho the stripper pole, they’re laughing at his knob. 
The farmer drinks a lot, 
His liver starts to rot. 
Chuggitiy-chug the winey-o 
Time to start growing pot.
</blockquote>

Stephen Colbert

Anti-Trump Late-Night Host Suggests ICE And Border Patrol Agents Are Worse Than Nazis

Media

Nazis

Alex Pretti was caught on video attacking the vehicle of federal immigration officers in Minneapolis just days before he was shot and killed in an altercation with Border Patrol.
Footage of the January 13 incident shows Pretti spitting at officers and kicking out the taillight of one of their vehicles. Pretti then raises his middle finger to the vehicle before one agent gets out of the vehicle and quickly wrestles him to the ground.
After a brief scuffle, Pretti manages to slip out of his coat and retreat behind a crowd of protesters. Immigration agents do not follow him. What appears to be a gun can be seen sticking out of Pretti’s waistband.
The footage was originally captured and published by The News Movement.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The Minnesota Star Tribune confirmed with Alex Pretti&#8217;s family that the man in this video is indeed Alex Pretti.
Filmed by <a href="https://twitter.com/thenewsmovement?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@thenewsmovement</a> on January 13, two weeks before Pretti was shot by ICE: <a href="https://t.co/1yLKLApXvB">pic.twitter.com/1yLKLApXvB</a>
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) <a href="https://twitter.com/MaryMargOlohan/status/2016661993671811210?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2026</a></blockquote>
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The attorney for Pretti’s family has since confirmed that Pretti is the man in the video.
“A week before Alex was gunned down in the street — despite posing no threat to anyone — he was violently assaulted by a group of ICE agents,&#8221; attorney Steve Schleicher, who represents Pretti’s family, told the <a href="https://www.startribune.com/bystander-video-reveals-confrontation-between-alex-pretti-and-federal-agents-11-days-before-killing/601572009">Minnesota Star Tribune</a> after reviewing the footage.
The January 13 altercation took place in Minneapolis’ Powderhorn neighborhood, within half a mile of the spot that immigration agents had previously shot and killed Renee Good on January 7. Good had been using her vehicle to impede immigration officers, and as several officers approached her vehicle and requested she exit, she drove her car forward, hitting one of the officers before he shot her.
Pretti was shot and killed during an altercation with Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis on January 24, 11 days after his earlier confrontation with immigration agents. Pretti’s first violent encounter with immigration agents left him with a broken rib, according to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/27/us/alex-pretti-protesters-minneapolis-invs">CNN</a>.
The Department of Homeland Security has said that it has no record of the January 13 interaction between Pretti and immigration officers.
Pretti’s death sparked outrage and fueled more civil unrest in Minnesota as state and local officials have continued to encourage anti-immigration enforcement activists to resist federal law enforcement efforts. In the days since, the Trump administration has swapped out some of the law enforcement personnel in Minnesota, moving out Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino and moving in White House border czar Tom Homan.
Homan will <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/homans-arrival-in-minneapolis-could-change-who-feds-arrest-in-immigration-raids">serve</a> as the liaison between federal immigration officials and Minnesota state and local officials. The border czar has met with some top officials already, including Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.
Trump has <a href="https://x.com/cspan/status/2016254013587734611">called</a> Pretti’s death a “very unfortunate incident.” Two of the agents involved in Pretti’s death have been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/border-patrol-agents-involved-in-alex-pretti-fatal-shooting-placed-on-administrative-leave">placed</a> on administrative leave while the incident is investigated, according to Customs and Border Protection.

Alex Pretti

Alex Pretti Attacked Immigration Enforcement Days Before Fatal Shooting, Video Shows

White House border czar Tom Homan&#8217;s arrival in Minneapolis has already led to discussions about making changes to which illegal immigrants federal authorities should be targeting.
Homan arrived in the Twin Cities on Monday after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti. Behind closed doors, the former ICE chief has already been critical of the strategy Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and her ally, El Centro sector Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino, have employed to increase the number of arrests rather than to focus on the quality of arrests in nabbing the worst criminals, sources within the federal government recently told The Daily Wire.
President Donald Trump sent Homan to Minneapolis, replacing Bovino, who was commanding arrests in the region with more aggressive and showy tactics. Bovino has since been reassigned to the border.
Homeland Security sources on the ground told The Daily Wire that Homan&#8217;s arrival has already brought about changes to their target lists, but noted that nothing is final. The sources were granted anonymity to speak because they&#8217;re not authorized to do so publicly.
&#8220;Targeting is changing strategies,&#8221; one source said.
Another source said they&#8217;ve &#8220;been told strictly target packages for now until they decide how to designate targets and collateral.&#8221; Collaterals are illegal immigrants that federal agents find near their criminal targets.
The source noted that on Tuesday, &#8220;the policy changed three times in the matter of four hours.&#8221;
Senior DHS officials are currently in discussions about what arrests will look like going forward, sources said.
On Monday, federal immigration agents arrested illegal immigrants in Minnesota who carried convictions for kidnapping, child rape, assault on a law enforcement officer with a firearm, assault, and possession of fraudulent documents, according to DHS.
A White House official told The Daily Wire that Minnesota immigration raids &#8220;should be targeted enforcement operations,&#8221; adding that &#8220;when a target is located, if there are others with them that are illegally present, these individuals should absolutely be arrested.&#8221;
&#8220;No one has directed an end to collateral arrests,&#8221; the official said.
A Customs and Border Protection spokesperson said that &#8220;no such order was given&#8221; to change arrests.
“CBP will continue to enforce the law in Minneapolis, just as they do across the country,&#8221; the spokesperson said.
While in Minneapolis, Homan has also met with Democratic Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey in an attempt to negotiate better cooperation from local police.
Frey, however, appears to be digging in his heels and said the city &#8220;does not and will not enforce federal immigration laws.&#8221;
Trump fired back at the sanctuary city mayor, saying he was &#8220;playing with fire.&#8221;

Tom Homan Joins White House Press Briefing

Homan’s Arrival In Minneapolis Could Change Who Feds Arrest In Immigration Raids

Two Border Patrol agents who were involved in the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday have been placed on administrative leave, a Customs and Border Protection spokesperson told The Daily Wire.
The agents initially continued working but were assigned to different operations. Preliminary findings from a federal investigation <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/two-federal-agents-fired-their-weapons-during-alex-pretti-shooting-report-congress-says/">determined</a> that two Border Patrol agents fired their weapons during their confrontation with Pretti.
The CBP spokesperson cited &#8220;standard protocol&#8221; as the reason the agents were placed on leave. Border Patrol&#8217;s Gregory Bovino stated during a Sunday press conference that the agents were still on the job.
The Department of Homeland Security contradicted that claim, telling The Daily Wire Wednesday that the agents have been on administrative leave since Saturday.
The initial findings from the internal Customs and Border Protection review stated that Border Patrol agents were working to make an arrest in Minneapolis on Saturday morning when an agent was &#8220;confronted by two female civilians blowing whistles.&#8221; The agent issued a verbal command to the women to &#8220;move out of the roadway&#8221; when they made contact with Pretti.
&#8220;The [CBP officer] pushed them both away and one of the females ran to a male, later identified as 37-year-old Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a US citizen,&#8221; the report said. &#8220;The [CBP officer] attempted to move the woman and Pretti out of the roadway. The woman and Pretti did not move. The [CBP officer] deployed his oleoresin capsicum (OC) spray towards both Pretti and the woman.&#8221;
According to the report, the agents &#8220;attempted to take Pretti into custody,&#8221; but &#8220;Pretti resisted CBP personnel&#8217;s efforts and a struggle ensued.&#8221;
&#8220;During the struggle, a [Border Patrol agent] yelled, &#8216;He&#8217;s got a gun!&#8217; multiple times,&#8221; the report said.
&#8220;Approximately five seconds later, a [Border Patrol agent] discharged his CBP-issued Glock 19 and a [CBP officer] also discharged his CBP-issued Glock 47 at Pretti. After the shooting, a BPA [Border Patrol agent] advised he had possession of Pretti&#8217;s firearm,&#8221; CBP added. &#8220;The BPA subsequently cleared and secured Pretti&#8217;s firearm in his vehicle.&#8221;
Following the shooting, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called Pretti a &#8220;domestic terrorist&#8221; who arrived on scene &#8220;to inflict maximum damage on individuals and to kill law enforcement.” She has since faced backlash for getting ahead of multiple ongoing federal investigations.
“It was a horrible response,” a federal government source recently told The Daily Wire. “Many people I’ve heard from say it was unprofessional. She doesn’t know what she’s doing.”
North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis was among the growing number of congressional Republicans to condemn Noem and has since called on President Donald Trump to fire her.
Tillis, who announced last year that he would not seek re-election, told reporters Tuesday that Noem “has proven to be way out of her depth,&#8221; adding that her &#8220;amateurish&#8221; handling of the latest fatal shooting &#8220;should be disqualifying.&#8221;
&#8220;She should be out of a job,&#8221; he said.

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