700 agents left Minnesota after two fatal shootings; Bovino calls exit a surrender

Immigration arrests in Minnesota dropped to what Greg Bovino called a "virtual standstill" after federal agents pulled out of Minneapolis. Bovino, who led the deportation push in the city, said the pullback was ordered by the Trump administration. He spoke to the BBC in Detroit, where he was campaigning for tougher enforcement.

About 700 agents left the state after President Donald Trump said on Jan 12 that he was "going to de-escalate a little bit." The withdrawal followed the Jan 7 shooting deaths of US citizens Renee Good, 42, and Alex Pretti during the operation. Trump initially said Good "violently, willfully and viciously ran over the ICE officer." He later called her death a "tragedy" and said agents were sometimes "going to make a mistake." Video captured both shootings.

Bovino, 56, was removed from his role shortly after the killings. He said he regretted "not going harder in Minnesota and arresting even more illegal aliens" and called his agents the "real victims" of what he described as the most violence any law enforcement mission had faced in US history. He declined to explain his removal, saying, "You'd have to ask the administration. I still haven't gotten the final word on that." Bovino has since retired from the border patrol. Tom Homan, the White House "border tsar," took over the operation.

Good's family filed two civil lawsuits in October 2026 against the administration, alleging wrongful death and conspiracy to interfere with protesters' civil rights. One case names Bovino and Jonathan Ross, the agent who shot Good, "for their respective individual roles in the operation that led to Renee's death." A White House spokeswoman called the lawsuits "baseless." Bovino said he was "not responding" to the suits and added, "people do lawsuits all the time." The family's lawyers said he was "spewing propaganda" and could not be "judge, jury and executioner."

Bovino has claimed without evidence that 100 million people are in the US illegally. A White House spokesperson said Trump "delivered the largest reduction in illegal immigration in modern history" and that more than 3 million illegal aliens had left the country because of his policies. Bovino also floated "exploring" a presidential run in 2028: "If politicians aren't going to step up and do their job then you might see something happen."

Kristi Noem, Homeland Security secretary during the operation, was fired by Trump in March. Bovino addressed a rally in Michigan organized by activists who called for the deportation of Abdul El-Sayed, a US-born citizen and Democratic Senate candidate.