ICE crackdown's 'public face' to leave Minneapolis as Trump faces backlash

The border commander who has emerged as the face of the Trump administration's ICE operation in Minneapolis is leaving his role.

A senior White House official and Trump administration figure said Gregory Bovino would be returning to a previous local position in El Centro, California.

It comes as it was revealed that ICE agents will have a security role at the upcoming Winter Olympics in Italy.

Latest updates from Minneapolis

Sky's US partner network NBC News reported some of Mr Bovino's immigration enforcement agents would also depart Minneapolis on Tuesday.

Protesters assembled outside the hotel where he was reported to be staying on Monday night, facing off with federal officers.

It follows widespread backlash among the American public, leading Democrats, and a growing number of Republicans over the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti on Saturday - and the response to it.

The 37-year-old nurse, a US citizen, was shot dead in an altercation with ICE agents - the second such incident in the city this month, following the death of Renee Good.

Top officials including Mr Bovino, Homeland security secretary Kristi Noem, and Trump adviser Stephen Miller tried to paint Mr Pretti as a threat to the agents, prompting a furious response from his family.

Ms Noem has claimed he approached officers with a handgun and acted violently towards them, but several pieces of footage analysed by Sky News counters that narrative:

'Border tsar' set to take over

The removal of Mr Bovino from Minneapolis is a "major step", Sky's US correspondent Martha Kelner said.

He has become the "public face" of Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, she added.

His job as commander has been to oversee Border Patrol agents making immigration arrests in US cities.

The president's "border tsar", Tom Homan, is set to arrive in Minneapolis shortly, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who said he was "doing an exceptional job".

ICE set for Winter Olympics

ICE agents will also be sent to Olympic Winter Games in Milan, according to Associated Press sources inside the US embassy in Rome.

They said the officers would support diplomatic security details and not run any immigration enforcement.

It has however prompted outrage from inside Italy. Milan's mayor, Giuseppe Sala, told a radio station that the force "was not welcome in Milan, there is no doubt about it".

He branded the agency a "militia that kills" and "enters people's homes by issuing itself authorization", according to French newspaper La Figaro.

Trump touts calls with senior Democrats

There has been a marked change in tone from the White House regarding Minneapolis amid the public backlash, including from the president himself.

NBC reports, citing administration officials, that Mr Trump is "concerned" about the sustainability of the operation.

"The visuals were not playing well. He understands TV. … He saw it for himself," said a Republican lawmaker who was granted anonymity to speak candidly.

Mr Trump is to meet the city's mayor, Jacob Frey, on Tuesday.

"I just had a very good telephone conversation with Mayor Jacob Frey, of Minneapolis," he said on Truth Social.

"Lots of progress is being made!"

Mr Trump made similarly positive noises about an earlier conversation with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, another Democrat who has called for ICE to leave Minneapolis.

"It was a very good call, and we, actually, seemed to be on a similar wavelength," the president said.

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Among the senior Republicans to call for a change in approach are Senator Ted Cruz, who said on his podcast: "I would encourage the administration to be more measured."

The scenes in Minneapolis have also been condemned by former Trump ally Marjorie Taylor Greene, who split with the president over his handling of the Epstein files.

Republican lawyer Chris Madel has even stepped out of the race for Minnesota governor in response to crisis.

Mr Madel had also represented Jonathan Ross, the immigration agent who killed mother-of-three Renee Good less than three weeks ago.

In a video message posted to his X account he said ICE's programme had "expanded far beyond its stated focus on true public safety threats."

He added: "United States citizens, particularly those of colour, live in fear.

"United States citizens are carrying papers to prove their citizenship - that's wrong."

"ICE has authorised its agents to raid homes using a civil warrant that need only be signed by a border patrol agent.

"That's unconstitutional and its wrong."

Officials who spoke to NBC insisted Mr Trump remained committed to cracking down on immigration and fraud.