Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino and some federal agents will begin leaving Minnesota today, according to local leaders and multiple media reports.

Why it matters: Its one of several signs that President Trump is de-escalating the immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota, days after Border Patrol officers shot and killed a second Minneapolis resident.

Driving the news: Trump's most significant move came yesterday morning, when he dispatched White House border czar Tom Homan to the Twin Cities — essentially cutting Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem out of the operation.

• Homan — a career immigration official who also served under President Obama — is likely to emphasize more targeted enforcement efforts with fewer confrontational tactics, Axios' Marc Caputo and Brittany Gibson report.

Behind the scenes: Trump spent Sunday lamenting his administration's botched response to Alex Pretti's shooting, including "callous" statements by Bovino and Noem, a confidant who spoke with him told Axios.

• "It's f**ked, and POTUS knew he needed to unf**k it," an administration adviser told Axios.

On Monday, the president dispatched Homan to take the reins and called both Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.

• "There's a definite change of tone. There's definitely a more collaborative tone," Walz told MPR News about the "productive" conversation.

Zoom in: The governor told the station the president agreed to look into reducing the number of federal agents.

• They also discussed Walz's call for federal cooperation on an independent state investigation into the fatal shootings and the Department of Corrections' existing policies on working with ICE.
• Trump said on Truth Social that he and Walz "seemed to be on a similar wavelength" and that the governor "understood" the administration's desire to get access to undocumented "criminals" already in custody.
• "Lots of progress is being made!" he posted hours later, of his call with Frey.

Zoom out: The rhetorical retreat came amid declining public and political support for the operation.

• A growing number of Republican lawmakers have called for investigations and testimony from top Trump officials following Pretti's shooting, Axios' Stef Kite and Kate Santaliz report.
• Senate Democrats, meanwhile, are preparing to force changes at DHS as part of a deal to fund the federal government.

Reality check: Details about the scale of the drawdown are unclear, but federal immigration authorities are still likely to have a larger footprint than normal in the Twin Cities.

• An administration adviser told Axios they're not going to pack up and leave: "We can't lose Minneapolis because if we do, we lose Chicago and Los Angeles," the adviser said.

What's next: Homan, who has more credibility with Democrats than Noem, plans to meet with law enforcement, along with Walz and Frey.

Go Deeper: "It was a mess": Inside Trump's pivot on Minnesota

St. Paul's rapid response network spotted the known ICE vehicle as soon as it entered the neighborhood.

Just before 3:45pm last Tuesday, the volunteers who track federal agents — and warn immigrants of their movements — reported it in an encrypted group call.

• By 4pm, rapid responders had radioed the agents' destination: Sherburne and Western avenues. Several on the call offered to go observe.

Within a half hour, more than 40 people were on the scene — with warning whistles screeching and cameras rolling.

Why it matters: This scene — which Axios witnessed a week before federal agents killed Pretti — demonstrated how large and efficient the Twin Cities' anti-ICE watch groups have grown, especially since Good's fatal shooting.

• Video shows Pretti was shot while filming agents with his phone, and his killing has focused new attention on constitutional observers and the unofficial rapid response groups coordinating residents' response to Operation Metro Surge.
• Thousands of volunteers have joined these groups, covering every neighborhood in Minneapolis and St. Paul, plus several suburbs.

"Constitutional observation is … peaceful protesting," said St. Paul City Council Member HwaJeong Kim, who volunteers as a rapid responder.

• Kim invited Axios to ride along as she drove laps around her council ward on St. Paul's North End.

How it works: Kim said rapid response volunteers are often the first to arrive at scenes, but "the moment that neighbors hear the whistles and the car horns, people are coming out of their houses" — like we saw at Western and Sherburne.

• These numbers, volunteers believe, deter agents from detaining more people.

Zoom in: Throughout the 90-minute shift, Kim looked for vehicles bearing the hallmarks of ICE — tinted windows or out-of-state plates — all while dialed into a call with 40+ rapid responders circling the city on foot or by car.

• The call sounded like a DIY police dispatch frequency, periodically crackling with a license plate number that dispatchers checked against crowdsourced databases of known ICE vehicles.
• When the system works well, Kim said, dispatchers can triangulate where agents are headed.

The intrigue: Many rapid responders share a primary goal, Kim said: to create a trove of evidence that could win lawsuits or shift public opinion.

Rapid responders' activities are a central point of tension between the Trump administration and Minnesota's elected leaders.

The big picture: While Walz has urged residents to "take out that phone and hit record" when they see ICE activity, Trump administration officials have claimed observers are out to antagonize agents.

• Though it's not clear how active Pretti or Good were in observer groups, top Trump officials branded both as "domestic terrorists."

Friction point: The Border Patrol's Bovino recently told reporters that Minnesota groups are "better organized" than observers tailing agents in other cities — which he said makes it a "difficult operating environment."

• Well-coordinated efforts to track agents' movements have led to multiple charged interactions: Observers have been detained. Agents have deployed tear gas against crowds and claimed harassment amid protests around their hotels or during off-duty dinners.

Catch up quick: Rapid responders' training materials urge ICE watch observers to leave any weapons at home.

• Pretti was armed with a gun while filming the agents, but video analysis shows that he never brandished the weapon and that they had disarmed him before they shot him.
• "We're not asking people to bring guns," said Kim, who has attended multiple observer trainings — but she also said Pretti was acting within his legal rights.

What's next: Pretti's death shook Kim, but she plans to continue observing — and is encouraged by how many others are doing the same.

• "Every common person, political or not," she told Axios, "is joining the fray."

Keep reading

🩺 Fairview Health Services reached a deal with the University of Minnesota and the school's doctors to continue a partnership that funds the U's medical school for another 10 years. (Star Tribune/Background via Axios)

🏛️ Walz issued an executive order directing the Department of Public Safety to install a weapons detection system at the State Capitol before the session starts next month. (KSTP/Background via Axios)

🎙️ KFAN radio host and Vikings play-by-play announcer Paul Allen apologized for comments he made suggesting that ICE protestors are paid and said he's taking "a few days off." (Awful Announcing)

🗳️ Voters in parts of St. Paul and Woodbury head to the polls today to fill two open state House seats. (Secretary of State/Background via Axios)

🐘 GOP candidate Chris Madel announced he's ending his campaign for governor over the immigration crackdown, warning that "national Republicans have made it nearly impossible for a Republican to win" statewide. Axios)

Demonstrators in London, Berlin and Dublin gathered yesterday to denounce ICE and praise the Minnesotans protesting the immigration surge.

• About 100 demonstrators — including actor Elijah Wood — also held a moment of silence at the Sundance Film Festival.