Over the past several weeks, Minnesota has become the central battleground in the fight to save democracy in the United States from creeping fascism. It is there—especially in the city of Minneapolis—that working people, immigrant communities, organized labor, faith leaders, and activists have stood shoulder-to-shoulder to resist the racist and unconstitutional assaults of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Border Patrol, and other militarized federal agencies.
And after massive protests, organized outrage, and the killing of two U.S. citizens by federal agents, there are signs that ICE is starting to melt in Minnesota. After a phone call with President Donald Trump, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey reports that “some federal agents will begin leaving the city,” and he says that even Trump “agreed the present situation can’t continue.”
The White House is also walking back its lies that protesters and observers like the murdered Andrew Pretti and Renee Nicole Good are terrorists. Emergency meetings in the Oval Office with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem suggest the president is struggling to contain the fallout. And the cosplaying stormtrooper commander “Gestapo” Greg Bovino is reportedly being demoted and shuffled off the stage and sent back to California.
The Atlantic, which broke the news of Bovino’s pending departure, called it “the clearest sign yet that the Trump administration is reconsidering its most aggressive tactics after the killing…of 37-year-old Alex Pretti by Border Patrol agents under Bovino’s command.” The magazine could have gone further and called this development what it is: A Trump retreat.
This shift has come about because of unprecedented grassroots pressure and national outrage over the murders committed during “Operation Metro Surge,” the warlike code name the administration uses for its attack on Minnesota. Of course, the spin machine in Washington is trying to downplay what’s happening, with Noem insisting Bovino remains “a key part of the president’s team and a great American.”
The split messaging is an intentional political calculation—a pivot in tone while the overall policy is maintained.
It’s clear, however, that the brutality of ICE in Minnesota has become a political liability for Republicans ahead of the midterm elections. Video evidence of the crimes committed by agents so far shows the value of ICE observation work and proves that witnesses matter. The claim that Pretti intended to “massacre law enforcement,” for instance, has been obliterated as a blatant falsehood for anyone with eyes willing to see.
The public’s response to these actions has stiffened the spine of political leaders and scared GOP pollsters, and that’s because the hardline tactics which energize segments of the MAGA base are actually rejected by most people in this country. In the U.S. Senate, the Democratic leadership is threatening to trigger a partial government shutdown to oppose Republican plans to double ICE’s budget.
Local officials from Mayor Frey on up to Gov. Tim Walz have declared Minnesota cannot be treated as a “battleground” in Trump’s war on the American people. Their insistence that federal agents no longer operate unchecked in the state—a demand rooted in community defense, public safety concerns, and constitutional rights—is helping reshape the terrain.
Labor and emergency workers in Minneapolis have helped make clear the real material impact that Trump’s escalation is having on everyone. The Hennepin County Association of Paramedics and EMTs—the union representing 200 local first responders—says that the surge of federal agents has caused a steep increase in calls for service.
Community members are afraid to seek medical attention out of fear of running into ICE, protesters need treatment for tear gas and other chemical agents, and of course, “several residents have been shot.” They warn that ICE is “pushing our emergency medical system past the breaking point.” These workers are reminding us that an injury one is an injury to all.
And so, in the face of growing nationwide scrutiny—not only from Minnesota activists but also from some GOP voices urging “recalibration” of ICE’s mission—the Trump administration’s tactics have been forced into a pullback. What once was pitched as a demonstration of federal muscle is now being publicly reassessed.
None of these developments happened in a vacuum. They are the result of sustained protest and repeated demands from community coalitions, organized labor, immigrants and their allies, city and state officials, and civil rights advocates. The turnout of as many as 100,000 people in the streets of Minneapolis on Jan. 23, all chanting in unison “ICE out!”, showed that the narrative cannot be controlled by the administration and its propaganda spokespeople.
For those who organized and marched in Minneapolis and elsewhere around the country, these tactical retreats by Trump are a reflection of people power in action. As one local demonstrator in the Twin Cities told a national television audience the day after Pretti’s murder, “The whole world needs to keep their eyes on what is happening here in Minneapolis and St. Paul and Minnesota because what happens here can happen to you.”
The reorientation of the administration and its pushback exposes the depth of the struggle that’s still ahead, however. The pivot by the White House and Homeland Security stops far short of ending violent federal enforcement operations, and the demotion of one commander does little to alter the broader nationwide strategy of intimidation and mass deportation. The appointment of “border czar” Tom Homan—a seasoned architect of deportation policy—to replace Bovino shows there is continuity beneath the surface shuffle.
The Trump administration’s Minnesota shift should be seen a tactical recalibration, then, not capitulation. It still stands, however, as a testament to the power of resistance to shape public policy when voices and movements come together.
These developments also offer a blueprint for future fights: When movements rise and persist, they can push back even the most entrenched forces and transform moments of crisis into victories for the people. The struggle continues, and organizers on the ground in Minnesota and beyond are already asking the right question: What’s next?
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