Minneapolis latest: Border Patrol commander 'to leave city tomorrow' days after fatal shooting

That's it for today with our rolling coverage of Donald Trump's escalating immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The day has seen what our US correspondent Mark Stone has described as a marked softening in the government's tone after the killing of Alex Pretti, a civilian, by an ICE agent.

Watch Stone's analysis of the White House's latest communication in the video

Border tsar replaces Bovino

The US president has dispatched his border tsar, Tom Homan, to Minneapolis to serve as a point person.  He is due to meet the mayor of Minneapolis tomorrow, who welcomed his deployment if he was "here to engage constructively".

In a call with the Democratic governor, Tim Walz, Trump also agreed to consider removing federal immigration agents from the state, the governor's office said. 

The Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino, who represents a flashier, more provocative approach, is expected to be withdrawn tomorrow.

Backlash and fear

It might well be a reaction to the huge backlash to the killing - the second in less than three weeks.

Not only Trump's predecessors, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, spoke out today - there have been resistance and fear on the ground.

Watch US correspondent Martha Kelner's report below

US correspondent Martha Kelner is on the ground in Minneapolis, where she has spoken to the locals, who are standing up after the killing of Alex Pretti linked to Donald Trump's immigration crackdown.

They fear that "an example is being made" of them, as one protester told Kelner.

Watch her full report below

Gregory Bovino has become the face of Donald Trump's immigration crackdown across the US.

But reports are emerging that the Border Patrol commander is being withdrawn from Minneapolis tomorrow, as the situation has escalated with the killing of Alex Pretti by an ICE agent.

So who is Bovino and why is he so controversial?

When did Bovino first enter the spotlight?

The 55-year-old has long served in the United States Border Patrol, which is responsible for securing the US borders.

He rose to prominence during the immigration crackdown in Los Angeles last summer, which was met with mass protests in the city.

He assumed the title "commander-at-large" for the agency's immigration enforcement in California.

He subsequently appeared wherever crackdowns were under way, including Chicago, Charlotte, New Orleans and, most recently, Minneapolis.

Bovino operates outside the regular Border Patrol command structure. He reports directly to Kristi Noem, the secretary of homeland security, who called him the Border Patrol Commander at Large in an op-ed, our US partner NBC News reported.

Why is he so controversial?

Bovino has taken the function of a public face and an attack dog for the more brutal immigration enforcement under Trump.

He has coined the "turn and burn" tactics that have replaced ICE's previous more methodical approach. The idea is to get in and out of making arrests as quickly as possible to avoid confrontations with protesters.

He also appears to enjoy the limelight: he has a very active presence on social media, where he posts martial slow-motion shots, overlayed with music.

His appearance has also drawn criticism. Bovino tends to wear assault rifles and full tactical gear.

The so-called greatcoat that he has worn repeatedly drew comparison with the uniforms of Adolf Hitler's praetorian guard, the SS, by German magazine Der Spiegel.

What has he said about the Minneapolis shooting?

Bovino has defended his officers over the shooting of Alex Pretti. He said in an interview with CNN that the intensive care nurse "put himself in that situation".

"The victim? The victims are the Border Patrol agents. I’m not blaming the Border Patrol agents," he said.

He claimed Pretti had "injected" himself into a law enforcement operation and was "more than likely" to assualt officers.

Fact check: Here is what the actual footage reveals about how the killing of Pretti went down...

Donald Trump's border tsar, Tom Homan, will meet with Minneapolis' mayor, Jacob Frey, tomorrow, the US president has announced on Truth Social.

"I just had a very good telephone conversation with Mayor Jacob Frey, of Minneapolis," he wrote. "Lots of progress is being made!"

Read the full post below:

Homan was appointed by Trump as his border tsar early on in the administration.

He was dispatched today to serve as Trump's "point person" in Minneapolis after the killing of Alex Pretti by a federal agent on Saturday had been met with intense backlash on the ground.

The fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by an ICE agent has also prompted an outpour of support among US celebrities.

Actresses Natalie Portman and Olivia Wilde were seen wearing "ICE out" badges at the Sundance Film Festival this weekend.

"We're at a horrific moment in our country, with the federal government attacking civilians in our own cities," Portman said.

"It's impossible to ignore what ICE is doing to our country."

Even Joe Rogan, who was previously deemed sympathetic of Donald Trump, spoke out on his podcast last week after the first ICE-linked shooting of Renee Good.

Watch his comments and the Sundance protest in the video...

Singer Olivia Rodrigo reacted in her Instagram story, slamming ICE's actions as "unconscionable".

"But we are not powerless," she added. "Our actions matter. I stand with Minnesota."

Actor Mark Ruffalo said Pretti's was "cold-blooded murder in the streets of the USA by an occupying military gang, creating havoc."

Singer Billie Eilish said Hollywood must speak out even more, posting in her Instagram story: "hey my fellow celebrities u gonna speak up? or"

Key Democrat officials have spoken up against the federal operation in Minnesota after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, notably including former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.

But notably, several Republicans have also expressed their discomfort about what's going on in Minneapolis.

Ted Cruz, an ultra-conservative Republican senator, said in his podcast:

"I would encourage the administration to be more measured, to recognize the tragedy, and to say we don't want anyone's lives to be lost."

Donald Trump's former vice president, Mike Pence, has called the images of the killing of Alex Pretti "deeply troubling" in a new post.

He wrote:

"A full and transparent investigation of this officer involved shooting must take place immediately."

Several Republicans in the US Congress have also pressed for a deeper investigation into federal immigration tactics in Minnesota.

Representative Michael McCaul of Texas and the senators Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska were among those calling for more information on what happened.

The Republican chair of the House Homeland Security Committee Chairman in Congress, Andrew Garbarino, sought testimony from leaders at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection and US Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Controversial Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino and some of his agents may leave Minneapolis tomorrow, American media have reported.

As Donald Trump has dispatched his "border tsar" Tom Homan to Minneapolis, it appears that he will be taking over from Bovino, said US correspondent Martha Kelner.

"It seems like he is being shipped out of here back to his home," Kelner said of Bovino.

Watch her full analysis of the situation on the ground

Kelner said this was "a major step" as Bovino had been the "public face" of Trump's immigration crackdown. 

He was criticised for continuing to praise the ICE agents involved in the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti and calling them the real victims despite contrary evidence, Kelner said.

During a phone call this morning, Donald Trump had told Minnesota's governor, Tim Walz, that he would look into reducing the number of federal agents in the state, Walz's office said.

"Hundreds" gathered tonight in Trafalgar Square in London for a solidarity protest after the shooting of Alex Pretti, the organisers, Stand Up To Racism, have said.

The protest was supposed to take a stand against "ICE murders" and "Trumpism", according to the official announcement.

The organisation also published some pictures and footage from the gathering:

A judge has finished hearing arguments on a lawsuit seeking to halt ICE immigration crackdown operations in Minnesota.

The hearing ended without a ruling on whether to grant a restraining order to stop the deployment of more than 3,000 immigration agents to Minneapolis and St Paul.

Judge Katherine Menendez said she wanted to take her time to issue her decision.

The state and the ​cities of Minneapolis and St Paul filed the request after the first ICE-linked shooting in the city. They have argued that ICE agents are involved ​in "unlawful, violent conduct", pointing to alleged racial profiling and warrant-less raids of homes without warrants.

During the hearing, the judge said it was difficult to determine her legal authority to stop the Trump administration's actions. 

She repeatedly asked the representative of the Minnesota Attorney General's Office to specify how she should decide whether any law enforcement response crosses the line from legitimate operations.

She said the state of Minnesota and the Trump administration had different sets of values and it wasn't up to her to decide which was right.

Watch: Has Trump made a mistake in Minneapolis?

The Republican lawyer who provided legal advice to the ICE agent who killed Renee Good has dropped out of the race for Minnesota governor.

"I cannot support the national Republicans' stated retribution on the citizens of our state, nor can I count myself a member of a party that would do so," Chris Madel said on X.

He argued the operation had "expanded far beyond its stated focus", adding too many US citizens in Minnesota had been detained by ICE "due to the colour of their skin".

Madel never held elected office and ran as an outsider in the Republican primaries for this year's gubernatorial elections. He had been endorsed by the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis, however.

Madel gained attention for offering pro bono legal advice to Jonathan Ross, who shot and killed Good, although no criminal charges or civil lawsuits have been filed.