DHS Secretary Kristi Noem under scrutiny as Bovino exits Minnesota

Police in Maple Grove arrested 26 people on Monday night during a protest at the SpringHill Suites hotel.

The protest was declared an unlawful assembly, police said, after protesters damaged property.

Thirteen people were arrested for gross misdemeanor riot and 13 were arrested for unlawful assembly, which is a misdemeanor. Additionally, two of those people face an added charge of obstructing the legal process.

One person is under investigation for property damage but fled the scene, police say.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Police Chief Brian O’Hara met Tuesday morning with Border Czar Tom Homan, according to the mayor’s office.

The meeting came just hours after Homan met with Gov. Tim Walz.

In a statement Tuesday afternoon, Frey said he “appreciated” the conversation, noting he pressed Homan on the urgent need to end Operation Metro Surge, and stressed the toll its taken on his city’s officers, residents and the entire Twin Cities community.

“I also made it clear that Minneapolis does not and will not enforce federal immigration laws, and that we will remain focused on keeping our neighbors and streets safe,” Frey said. “City leaders will continue to stay in conversation with Mr. Homan and his team.” 

Walz said earlier Tuesday he and Homan “agreed on the need for an ongoing dialogue and will continue working toward” goals the governor said he discussed Monday in a phone call with President Trump.

Sources tell WCCO that the meetings between Homan, Walz and Frey were purposefully low profile with no press or pictures as part of an overall effort by local officials and the Trump administration to bring down tensions. 

Homan is known as an immigration and deportation hardliner but in an interview earlier this month with CBS News Anchor Tony Dokoupil, he took a more measured response to the Renee Good shooting, which had happened earlier that day. 

“It would be unprofessional to comment on what I think happened in that situation. Let the investigation play out and hold people accountable based on the investigation,” he said on Jan. 7.

A federal judge has blocked ICE from deporting 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father or transferring them away from the Texas region where they’re currently held.
 
Liam and his father were taken into custody in Minnesota earlier this month as part of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation captured on videos and photos that went viral and sparked outrage.
 
Liam and his father are currently detained at the Dilley ICE detention center for families with underage children.
 
We exclusively reported last week that the government could not legally deport the family for now, because they have pending immigration court cases.

The Columbia Heights Public School District says 5-year-old Liam Ramos was taken with his father while in their driveway after just arriving home from his preschool classroom. School officials claimed the child was used by agents to knock on the door and ask to be let in, letting officers see if anyone else was home.

As community outrage grew, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin claimed that “ICE did NOT target a child,” and said he was instead abandoned by his father. They say his father fled federal agents as they approached his vehicle, leaving the child.

DHS officials allege that the father, whom they described as an illegal immigrant from Ecuador, was taken into custody as other ICE officers stayed with the child. 

A person was in critical condition after a shooting involving the U.S. Border Patrol in Arizona on Tuesday, CBS affiliate KOLD-TV reported.

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said on social media it was responding to the shooting in Arivaca, an unincorporated community about 60 miles south of Tucson, close to the U.S.-Mexico border.

Details are limited. 

Leaders of three immigration enforcement agencies are set to testify before the House Homeland Security Committee next month following a pair of deadly shootings by federal agents in Minneapolis, the panel announced on Tuesday.

Chairman Andrew Garbarino, a New York Republican, said that Todd Lyons, the acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, had agreed to testify, along with Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph Edlow. The hearing is scheduled for Feb. 10. 

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Tuesday that Democrats will move to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem if she is not fired, marking a shift in how party leadership is handling the effort to confront the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. 

“Kristi Noem should be fired immediately, or we will commence impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives,” the New York Democrat said in a statement. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.” 

The statement was released with Democratic Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar of California. 

Democratic Rep. Robin Kelly of Illinois introduced an impeachment resolution on Jan. 14, a week after Renee Good was shot and killed by an ICE officer in Minneapolis. The impeachment effort has picked up steam since Border Patrol agents fatally shot Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday. 

Senate Democrats are threatening to block a package to fund major parts of the government this week, including the Department of Homeland Security, following the deadly shooting of a man by federal agents in Minneapolis.

But a partial government shutdown would likely have little impact on the administration’s ongoing immigration enforcement operations, since the relevant DHS agencies received a massive funding infusion in President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act last year. The immigration enforcement agencies would have the funds to continue operating uninterrupted, even if other parts of the government shut down.

Gov. Tim Walz’s office confirmed late Tuesday morning that he has met with border czar Tom Homan. 

President Trump on Monday announced that Homan will go to Minneapolis following the fatal shooting of ICU nurse Alex Pretti. 

“He has not been involved in that area, but knows and likes many of the people there,” Mr. Trump said. “Tom is tough but fair, and will report directly to me.”

Walz’s office released the following statement on the visit with Homan:

“Governor Walz met with Tom Homan this morning and reiterated Minnesota’s priorities: impartial investigations into the Minneapolis shootings involving federal agents, a swift, significant reduction in the number of federal forces in Minnesota, and an end to the campaign of retribution against Minnesota.

“The Governor and Homan agreed on the need for an ongoing dialogue and will continue working toward those goals, which the President also agreed to yesterday. The Governor tasked the Minnesota Department of Public Safety as the primary liaison to Homan to ensure these goals are met.”  

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey also said he will be meeting with Homan to discuss next steps. 

CBS News obtained the following statement from Alex Pretti’s sister, Micayla Pretti:

“Alex was kind, generous, and had a way of lighting up every room he walked into. He was incredibly intelligent and deeply passionate, and he made people feel safe. But most importantly, he was my brother. I had the privilege of being his little sister for 32 years. I will never be able to hug him, laugh with him, or cry to him again because of those thugs—and that is a pain no words can fully capture.

“Alex always wanted to make a difference in this world, and it’s devastating that he won’t be here to witness the impact he was making. Through his work at the VA caring for the sickest patients, and passion to advance cancer research, he touched more lives than he probably ever realized. All Alex ever wanted was to help someone—anyone. Even in his very last moments on this earth, he was simply trying to do just that.

“I want to thank everyone who has reached out to my family and me, whether you knew Alex personally or not. The messages, posts, and overwhelming positivity shared about him truly reflect his character, work ethic, and passions. My brother is, and always will be, my hero.

“When does this end? How many more innocent lives must be lost before we say enough? Hearing disgusting lies spread about my brother is absolutely gut-wrenching, and my family is deeply grateful so many people have stood up and helped tell his truth. He would be very proud.”

The mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala, spoke out Tuesday amid reports that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents would have a security role during the upcoming Winter Olympic Games, which are set to begin in Milan on Feb. 6.

“This is a militia that kills,” Sala said in an interview with Italian media. “It’s a militia that enters people’s homes by signing permits for themselves. … It’s clear that they’re not welcome in Milan, there’s no doubt about that.”

The chief judge of the U.S. District Court in Minnesota ordered the acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to appear in his courtroom in-person on Friday and explain why he should not be held in contempt of court for violating an earlier order.

Judge Patrick Schiltz wrote in a brief three-page order that the Trump administration has failed to comply with “dozens” of court orders in recent weeks, which has resulted in “significant hardship” to immigrants who have been arrested and detained as part of Operation Metro Surge.

Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock plans to travel to Minneapolis Tuesday to visit a memorial for Alex Pretti and meet with faith leaders, CBS News has confirmed. The trip comes days after Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse at the Department of Veterans Affairs, was shot and killed Saturday in south Minneapolis by a U.S. Border Patrol agent.

A federal judge on Monday declined to issue a decision in Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s bid to end to Operation Metro Surge. 

The state of Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul are seeking a temporary restraining order in their lawsuit against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and other Trump administration officials, arguing the influx of thousands of immigration agents to the state has caused “tremendous damage.”   

Tricia McLaughlin, U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s assistant secretary, previously called the suit “baseless.”  

Judge Kate Menendez, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, said at the end of Monday’s hearing she is going to take the time “to do everything I can to get it right” on whatever final decision she makes. 

Greg Ketter has spent nearly five decades selling comic books and science fiction novels at DreamHaven Books and Comics in Minneapolis. This week, his phone hasn’t stopped ringing.

Ketter said his store has seen a surge of online orders and messages of support after a photo of him at a recent protest circulated widely on social media. The image appears to show Ketter moving through a cloud of tear gas during a demonstration following the killing of Alex Pretti, which happened just minutes away from his store.

Ketter said he went to the protest after learning about Pretti’s death.

There are several angles of the deadly shooting of Alex Pretti online.

Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse who was killed in Minneapolis on Saturday, had a permit to carry. WCCO talked with Rob Doar, a firearms instructor and president of the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, about the incident.