Homan plans for eventual drawdown of federal authorities in Minnesota

The mother of a Liam Conejo Ramos, the 5-year-old boy who was detained by ICE agents in Minnesota last week, said she witnessed the scene from her window and "couldn't do anything."

She spoke with Telemundo's "AHORA 360" program in Spanish today, saying her husband, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, begged her "repeatedly" not to go outside because "he was afraid they would arrest me too."

"The agents noticed me, took Liam out of our car, and brought him to my front door so I would open it," she said through tears. "They knocked and knocked, and my son Liam kept saying, 'Mommy, open the door.'"

She said she was afraid of being arrested, too, and leaving her other child alone.

"I was terrified. My husband and I were being watched, and they were yelling at me, 'Don’t open the door, don’t go outside,'" she said.

Both Ramos and Arias were moved to Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas. On Tuesday, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order that blocks the Trump administration from removing Ramos.

Immigrations and Customs Enforcement said today it was conducting a targeted arrest in Minneapolis when the man they were arresting fled into the Ecuadorian consulate; this after the Ecuadorian government said an ICE agent tried to enter the building on Tuesday and was blocked by staff.

ICE said that Jorge Miguel Bravo Uriles is an immigrant from Ecuador in the U.S. illegally and that when officers approached, he fled into a nearby building.

The agency said in a statement that the officers involved were not aware that the building housed the Ecuadorian consulate. 

“The ICE officers were focused on arresting the criminal illegal alien, their own safety, and the safety of the public. At no time did the ICE officers enter the Consulate,” the agency said. “The Consulate employees protected this public safety threat illegal alien. He is still at large.”

The Ecuadorian Consulate did not immediately respond to a request for comment about ICE’s allegations.

A federal grand jury in Wichita returned indictments charging two Kansas men in separate, unrelated incidents with threatening federal officials, including Rep. Ilhan Omar, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Kansas said in a news release.

Adam Lee Osborn is accused of making a Facebook post last week in which he wrote, “I’m going to kill Ilhan Omar,” court documents state. In an interview with investigators, he allegedly said that his posts are his way of “venting” and said he had “no means of doing any of those things.” He also said that he does not own any firearms.

The court documents allege that Osborn also told investigators that New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani needed to be killed. When asked if he wanted to kill them, he allegedly said that he “doesn’t have the means” and was making those statements to “maybe provoke someone to handle business.”

Osborn, 60, was indicted on one count of interstate communications with a threat to injure and one count of influencing, impeding and retaliating against a federal official by threatening.

Frey on federal drawdown plans for Minneapolis: 'I'll believe it when I see it'

01:03

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey told his fellow mayors Thursday that the immigration operation in his city "needs to stop."

"We are on the front lines of a very important battle, and it's important that we aren't silenced, that we aren't put down," he said at a U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting in Washington, D.C. "This is not a time to bend our heads in despair or out of fear that we may be next, because if we do not speak up, if we do not step out, it will be your city that is next."

Frey said that while crime has been "down in virtually every category," federal law enforcement agents are the ones making neighborhoods unsafe.

"Minneapolis is a safe city. It is less safe when chaos reigns supreme. It is less safe when families do not feel comfortable going to school or buying food at the grocery store because they are worried that their very family might get ripped apart," he said.

"And so we’ve been very clear that Operation of Metro Surge needs to end," he continued. "This kind of conduct and siege needs to stop, not just in Minneapolis. It needs to stop nationwide."

President Donald Trump reposted a video on Truth Social of Sen. Elizabeth Warren speaking about Alex Pretti's "compassion" and inability to cause harm over newly surfaced video that showed Pretti involved in an altercation with federal immigration agents the week before his death.

Pretti was recorded screaming at agents in an SUV and kicking out a taillight of their vehicle. The agents get out of the car and take him to the ground, but he manages to get away and rushes toward people standing nearby.

A family representative confirmed that it is Pretti in the video. Steve Schleicher, the attorney for the family, said that he was "violently assaulted" by the agents.

Three-hundred Catholic leaders called on the Senate not to fund ICE and Customs and Border Protection in the Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill.

"Catholic social teaching affirms that the family is the basic unit of society, willed by God and deserving of protection in law and public policy. Recent immigration enforcement actions carried out under DHS authority have heightened our concern that this fundamental principle is being compromised,” the letter reads.

The leaders said that families have been ripped apart “with little warning or recourse,” and they cannot support legislation “that expands or sustains enforcement practices without adequately addressing their consequences for families and communities.”

In the days after Alex Pretti was fatally shot by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis, officials and residents continue to demand accountability.

People gather at a makeshift memorial in the area where Alex Pretti was shot dead by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis on Monday. Roberto Schmidt / AFP via Getty Images

Rep. Ilhan Omar was sprayed with apple cider vinegar at a Minneapolis town hall on Tuesday. Octavio Jones / AFP via Getty Images

A candlelight vigil on Wednesday night at the site where Alex Pretti was killed by immigration enforcement officers in Minneapolis. Scott Olson / Getty Images

Federal agents detain a person at Portland Avenue and 19th Street in Minneapolis on Thursday. Stephen Maturen / Getty Images

At the Stock & Barrel Gun Club’s two locations near Minneapolis, the classes for people seeking a permit to carry a firearm almost always draw large crowds.

The pistol recovered by immigration agents after a shooting in Minneapolis, Minn., is shown on a screen behind U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem during a news conference at the Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters on Jan. 24. Al Drago / Getty Images

“It’s usually in the hundreds,” David Taylor, the club’s CEO, said.

But since immigration enforcement agents flooded the city, sparking clashes in the streets and the killing of two protesters, interest in the classes has only grown. In just the past two weeks, Taylor said, his club has received four times the usual number of sign-ups.

That does not appear to be an anomaly. Five firearm instructors in the Minneapolis area told NBC News they have seen a similar trend. The sudden interest, they say, is a reflection of the fear and uneasiness that has gripped the region amid the ongoing turmoil in the streets.

Read the full story here.

Trump didn't discuss the recent developments in Minnesota and the ongoing immigration operations there during his Cabinet meeting.

He didn't call on Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during the meeting and did not take questions from the press.

Maine Gov. Janet Mills said that 200 people have been detained by ICE in the state and that many of them “appear to be here legally” with no criminal record.

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said earlier Thursday that the ICE operation in the state was halted.

Mills said the people of Maine deserve to know the identities of those detained, where they are being held and the legal justification for detaining them.

"The reported end of ICE’s ‘enhanced operation’ in Maine does not end the pain and suffering that they have inflicted on communities across our state -- people who have been terrorized, mothers who have been separated from their children, businesses who have been threatened, all by their own government," she said in a statement.

Mills also called for accountability from Congress following the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.

"That begins with removing Kristi Noem -- which multiple Republicans have now called for -- and Congress rejecting the Department of Homeland Security funding bill until there are measures in place that prohibit ICE’s lawless, dangerous conduct and their abuses of power, which are entirely contrary to good law enforcement practices and standards," Mills said.

"Until there are substantive measures and changes in place, no state -- including Maine -- is protected from the weaponization of Federal law enforcement agencies against its own citizens by the Trump Administration," Mills added.

Federal charges were filed against the man who sprayed Rep. Ilhan Omar with a substance at a Minneapolis town hall earlier this week.

A man is tackled after spraying an unknown substance at Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., during a town hall in Minneapolis on Tuesday. Octavio Jones / AFP via Getty Images

Anthony James Kazmierczak, 55, faces a count alleging that he "forcibly assaulted, opposed, impeded, intimidated and officer and employee of the United States" while Omar was engaged in official duties.

Kazmierczak is accused of confronting Omar and using a syringe to spray a liquid on her moments after she called for ICE to be abolished and demanded that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem resign or be impeached.

The liquid was tested and determined to be water and apple cider vinegar, according to an affidavit in support of a criminal complaint. The substance was sent to a state laboratory for further testing and analysis.

According to the affidavit, Kazmierczak appeared to say after spraying her: "She’s not resigning. You’re splitting Minnesotans apart." He was tackled to the ground by a security guard.

The affidavit says that in the past, Kazmierczak made a comment to an associate that somebody should kill Omar.

Omar said the liquid stained her clothes and "may have reached her face and right eye," the affidavit states.

She continued speaking at the town hall after the incident.

Read the full story here.

Gov. Tim Walz's office responded to border czar Tom Homan's Thursday press conference and his comments that he asked ICE and CBP to develop a "drawdown plan" in Minnesota.

"As the Governor has said, we need a drawdown in federal forces, impartial BCA investigations, and an end to the campaign of retribution against Minnesota," the office said in a statement.

New York Attorney General Letitia James led a coalition of 21 other attorneys general in condemning the Trump administration’s “effort to exploit recent chaos in Minnesota to pressure state leaders into turning over sensitive resident data and dismantling longstanding public safety policies.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James. Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images

It is in response to a letter U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi sent to Gov. Tim Walz accusing the state of enabling widespread fraud.

"Your letter, penned on the very day federal agents took the life of a second civilian on Minnesota’s streets, makes plain the true purpose behind the administration’s violent and unlawful assault," the letter from James and the other attorneys general reads. "It is not to uncover fraud or pursue criminal undocumented immigrants, but rather to terrify the people of Minnesota and coerce the State into abandoning policies and protections it has the sovereign authority to pursue."

James said in a statement that the government's actions are "unlawful."

"We refuse to be intimidated by these threats, and we reject their unlawful demands that infringe on Minnesota’s fundamental sovereignty. My fellow attorneys general and I will continue to stand firm in defense of the rule of law and Americans’ rights," she said.

The attorneys general said that Bondi’s actions threaten "the constitutional balance of power between states and the federal government," according to a press release.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks at the State Capitol on Jan. 5. Stephen Maturen / Getty Images

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said yesterday that his time as an elected official will permanently end when he finishes his term as governor.

“I will never run for an elected office again. Never again,” Walz, the 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee, said in an interview with MS NOW.

Walz had said this month that he would not seek re-election as governor — sending shock waves through state and national politics — but he did not go so far as to say he would not consider another elected position down the line.

Read the full story here

Homan committed to holding ICE agents accountable at the press conference this morning.

"I want to make it clear: ICE and CBP officers are performing their duties in a challenging environment, under tremendous circumstances, but they're trying to do it with professionalism," Homan said. "If they don't, they'll be dealt with. Like any other federal agency, we have standards of conduct."

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey will travel to Washington, D.C., today to meet with mayors and federal lawmakers at the U.S. Conference of Mayors "to advocate for an end to Operation Metro Surge and other unlawful ICE operations," his office said in a press release.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. Leila Navidi / The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images file

"Minneapolis may be where we’ve seen one of the largest ICE deployments in the country, but it will not be the last if we fail to act," Frey said. "I’m going to Washington to make the case for ending this strategy and replacing it with approaches that build trust, improve safety, and put our residents first."

The mayor will also participate in discussions on how cities can collaborate to keep communities safe.

ICE officers and federal agents clash with a growing crowd of protesters on Nicollet Avenue in south Minneapolis, Minn., on Jan. 24. Richard Tsong-Taatarii / Star Tribune via Getty Images

Homan was asked about Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who were both fatally shot by federal agents this month, and made clear that he has no plans to comment on the investigation as he waits for it to "roll out.

"Let the investigation play out and let it go where it goes," he said. "I'm not going to come out making any comments."

He added, "Do I have an opinion? Yeah, my personal opinion, and I'm not going to share that with you. I'm going to tell you to let the investigation play out and see where it goes."

Homan has repeatedly stressed that ICE agents nationwide are focusing on targeted operations and said that, going forward, "all operations will be targeted."

He said agents are prioritizing "criminal animals, public safety threats, and national security threats."

"We got a lot of them. We got a lot of them that keep us busy," he said.

Homan added that the change in focus does not indicate a failed mission for DHS.

"We are not surrendering our mission at all. We are just doing it smarter," Homan said.

ICE agents look for someone at a home yesterday in Circle Pines, Minn.  Scott Olson / Getty Images

In the wake of two fatal shootings in Minnesota, Homan said he does not want to see anybody die amid ICE operations.

"I don’t want to see anybody die, even the people we’re looking for," Homan said. "I say a prayer every night that everybody was home safe."

He said he thinks his calm conversations this week are "leading us to safer community."

Homan also called local officials to let officers operate and make arrests in jails rather than on the streets, and said it is safer to do so in that environment.

He then talked about those protesting the federal government's operations in states across the U.S.

"The organization and funding of attacks on ICE — they will be held accountable. Justice is coming," Homan said.

Homan called on local and state officials to stand "shoulder to shoulder" with federal agents to "tone down the dangerous rhetoric and condemn all unlawful action against law enforcement community."

He said he has spoken to local officers who have responded to 911 calls for "when protestors turn violent," and said those agents can be in a dangerous situation.

"There are many ways your voice can be heard, express your feelings and affect change in the country across that line," he said. "Political and other disagreements in this room should not at the expense of public safety and safety of federal law enforcement officers."

He said that, to withdraw federal law enforcement resources from the city, cooperation is essential.

"As we see that cooperation happens, then the redeployment will happen," Homan promised.

Homan said he has asked ICE and CBP to work on a "drawdown plan" in Minnesota, in which officers focus on work in jails and prisons — and less on street operations.

"More agents in the jail means less agents in the street,” Homan said. “This is common-sense cooperation that allows us to draw down on the number of people we have here.”

He added, "Yes, I said it. Draw down the number of people here."

Instead of protesting in the streets of Minneapolis, Homan suggested taking efforts to Washington.

"If you don't like what ICE is doing, instead of protesting this building, go protest Congress," Homan said from a press conference at the Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis.

His comments differ from those of other Trump officials, including Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino, who has previously called protestors in Minneapolis "agitators" and "rioters."

Tom Homan speaks in Minneapolis today. Scott Olson / Getty Images

Amid chaos and protests in Minneapolis, Homan acknowledged that "no organization is perfect" and that administration officials, including Trump, "have recognized that certain improvements could and should be made."

Tom Homan says ICE operation in Minneapolis ‘can be improved'

00:59

Homan said that's where he comes in. He said he's had meetings with federal law enforcement managers, including ICE and CBP officers, as well as state and local officials, in which he has "conveyed the president’s expectations with regard to federal immigration enforcement efforts."

Homan insisted that ICE officers "will conduct targeted enforcement operations."

"We hit the streets, we know exactly who we’re looking for," Homan said.

Homan said the administration agreed that ICE "was a legitimate law enforcement agency that has a duty to enforce the laws enacted by Congress that keep this community safe."

But the administration "did not agree with Minnesota state local officials that they would be involved in immigration enforcement," Homan said, adding, "I didn’t ask them to be immigration officers."

Instead, he said, "I’m asking them to be cops working with cops to help us take criminal aliens off the street." He noted that "jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities are sanctuaries for criminals."

Homan revealed that he met with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who told him that county jails may notify ICE of the release dates of criminals who pose a public safety risk to the community.

ICE can then take those people into custody, something Homan said is important.

"Give us access to illegal alien public safety threats," he said. "It’s common sense. It’s safer for the community. It’s safer for the agent."

Homan said that he plans to stay in Minnesota until "the problem’s gone." He was sent to Minneapolis this week to manage ICE operations on the ground.

Homan addressed supporters of the Trump administration who have been critical of those who have spoken to leaders "who they don’t consider friends," like democratic leaders in Minneapolis and Minnesota.

"Bottom line is, you can’t fix problems if you don’t have discussions," Homan said. "I didn’t come to Minnesota for photo ops or headlines. ... I came here to seek solutions, and that’s what we’re going to do."

He said the administration has "come a long way" and that "we got some good ways for the people in Minnesota, I think, and for the administration, and for the safety, security of this city."

Homan has been in Minnesota since Monday, he said, "to regain law and order in the city beloved by me and work together to remove threats from the community."

Homan addressed Minnesotans early today. He said he's been in Minneapolis since Monday.

"We've made a lot of progress in the last few days," Homan said, referring to Immigration operations in Minneapolis that have intensified in the last month.

He said their goal is to "remove threats" from the area.

Border czar Tom Homan is set to hold a press conference at 8 a.m. ET in Minneapolis.

Homan was sent to Minneapolis this week to manage ICE operations on the ground. On Tuesday night, Homan said that meetings with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz were a "productive starting point." Homan also said he met with law enforcement.

"While we don’t agree on everything, these meetings were a productive starting point and I look forward to more conversations with key stakeholders in the days ahead," Homan said on X.

"President Trump has been clear: he wants American cities to be safe and secure for law-abiding residents — and they will be," Homan added.

One day after Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said he would no longer seek public office, Sen. Amy Klobuchar announced she is running to fill his seat.

"We've been through a lot," Klobuchar opened her video announcement, posted to social media and addressing Minnesotans.

The move from Klobuchar, who is currently serving her fourth term as senator, further shakes up Democratic politics in a blue-leaning state that has emerged as the latest target of President Donald Trump’s attacks and immigration crackdown.

"We cannot sugarcoat how hard this is, but in these moments of enormous difficulty we find strength in our Minnesotan values of hard work, freedom and simple decency and goodwill," Klobuchar said. "These times call for leaders who can stand up."

01:05

Hundreds of people gathered in Minneapolis at a makeshift memorial for Alex Pretti, the nurse who was killed during protests over ICE operations in the city.

Italy has detailed a sweeping security plan for the Winter Olympics, stressing that it will keep command of all operations after news emerged that Immigration and Customs Enforcement staff would be assisting the U.S. delegation.

The Games will be one of the most complex security operations Italy has had to manage, with the event split between two main hubs, Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, with additional events held elsewhere across the north.

About 3,500 athletes will take part in the event, which runs from Feb. 6 to Feb. 22, with the government expecting some 2 million visitors, including 60,000 for the opening ceremony in Milan’s San Siro stadium.

Read the full article here

Authorities fired what appeared to be tear gas at a large crowd of protesters yesterday outside the ICE facility in Dilley, Texas, where a 5-year-old boy is being held.

Texas troopers launch canisters at protesters outside detention center

00:55

NBC affiliate WOAI of San Antonio reported from the scene and captured images of Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) officers clashing with protesters at the facility, southwest of San Antonio. Two people were arrested, the department said, on charges including resisting arrest and interfering with public duties.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has ended its "enhanced operations" in the state of Maine, according to Sen. Susan Collins.

Collins said this morning in a post on X that the move came after multiple discussions between her and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro visited 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, who are being held in a ICE detention facility in Dilley, Texas, after they were detained Jan. 20.

Castro wrote on X yesterday: "Just visited with Liam and his father at Dilley detention center. I demanded his release and told him how much his family, his school, and our country loves him and is praying for him."

The Department of Homeland Security said Conejo Arias fled from agents who approached his car, leaving Liam.

Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro with 5-year-old Liam Ramos and his father, both detained by ICE at Dilley detention center. @JoaquinCastrotx / via X

Another video has emerged showing an altercation between Alex Pretti and federal agents, days before he was fatally shot in Minneapolis.

The video, verified by NBC News, shows an encounter Jan. 13 in which Pretti shouts at agents and is seen kicking the back of a vehicle, breaking a taillight.

It shows a different angle to a video that emerged yesterday and also a clearer picture of the minutes leading up to the altercation.

A number of anti-ICE protesters were arrested last night during a demonstration outside a Minneapolis hotel, NBC affiliate KARE of Minneapolis reported.

Protesters had gathered at the Graduate by Hilton hotel with whistles and signs, before authorities warned people to leave and began making arrests, KARE reported.

WASHINGTON — After Trump and his top aides rushed to portray Alex Pretti as a “gunman,” “domestic terrorist” and “would-be assassin” in the hours after he was shot and killed by Border Patrol agents Saturday, the president shuttled back and forth between the Oval Office and his adjacent private dining room, where he watched news coverage of the incident and fielded calls from concerned aides, lawmakers and other allies, according to two senior administration officials.

Trump already had posted an image of Pretti’s legally permitted Sig Sauer P320, along with a message referring to Pretti as a “gunman” whose firearm was “loaded (with two additional full magazines!), and ready to go.”

But as he absorbed clips of the fatal confrontation, and the news reports surrounding it, Trump grew increasingly disturbed by what he saw, according to one of the senior administration officials.

“He doesn’t like chaos on his watch,” the official said.

If Trump wasn’t ready to change the tactics, he was starting to understand that he needed to change the optics.

Read the full article here

02:32

Alex Pretti, the man Border Patrol agents killed Saturday in Minneapolis, had been recorded in an altercation with federal immigration agents the week before his death.

Pretti, 37, an intensive care nurse, was recorded having an interaction with uniformed agents in Minneapolis on Jan. 13, according to video recorded by the media company The News Movement. A family representative confirmed that Pretti is depicted in the video and that the family knew about the incident after it happened.

The outlet said it responded to a tip about agents blocking the road at the intersection of East 36th Street and Park Avenue shortly after 10 a.m. that day.

The video shows Pretti yelling at federal immigration agents and kicking the back of a vehicle used by agents, breaking a taillight. It is not clear what happened before the interaction.

Read the full article here

Rep. Ilhan Omar speaks one day after she was assaulted at a town hall when a man sprayed her with a substance now identified as apple cider vinegar. “Intimidation doesn’t work on me,” Omar said as she also called out Trump’s “rhetoric” since she took public office in Minnesota. 

00:39