Federal authorities have reported that a planned immigration arrest in Minneapolis was thwarted by violent disturbances, resulting in a suspect with a significant criminal background evading capture. During the upheaval, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent suffered a lasting injury when a protester bit off part of his finger.
Greg Bovino, a U.S. Border Patrol Commander, addressed the media on Sunday, detailing how the operation was derailed. He explained that both Border Patrol and ICE agents had to abandon their mission due to interference from the crowd, which escalated into assaults against officers and created a scene of chaos.
In the aftermath, Bovino stated that the suspect managed to escape, attributing this failure to the actions of politicians, activists, and those who confronted the law enforcement personnel. “This individual remains at large today,” Bovino remarked. “The situation is a direct consequence of the choices made by certain political figures and those individuals who followed their lead. It’s a regrettable state of affairs.”
The tense situation arose after a Border Patrol agent shot and killed a man during the same enforcement action, an event that reportedly triggered the subsequent violent confrontation.
In a related incident captured by media, individuals were seen vocally confronting U.S. Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino and other agents at a gas station in Evanston, Illinois, as they carried out an immigration enforcement operation. (Photo credit: Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
The unrest erupted after a Border Patrol agent fatally shot a man during the same enforcement operation, an incident that officials said set off the violent clashes.
Federal officials identified the man fatally shot by a Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis on Saturday as Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a member of the American Federation of Government Employees. Pretti, 37, lived in Minneapolis and worked as an intensive care unit nurse at a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs hospital.
Authorities said Pretti was shot during an early-morning immigration enforcement operation targeting Jose Huerta-Chuma, an illegal immigrant with a criminal history that includes domestic assault involving intentional bodily harm, disorderly conduct and driving without a valid license. According to Homeland Security officials, Pretti approached Border Patrol agents while armed with a 9 mm pistol and “violently resisted” when agents attempted to disarm him.
A screengrab from a video shows a law enforcement officer spraying irritants at Alex Pretti before he was fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis on Jan. 24, 2026. (Reuters)
Medical personnel rendered aid at the scene, but Pretti was pronounced dead. State officials said Pretti possessed a valid permit to carry a firearm.
Homeland Security officials said an ICE agent was permanently injured during the unrest when a protester bit off part of his finger as agents attempted to control the crowd.
ICE Executive Assistant Director of Enforcement and Removal Operations Marcos Charles said during Sunday’s press conference that there has been an uptick in violence against federal law enforcement officials in Minneapolis and across the country.
Officials said Minnesota anti-ICE protesters allegedly bit off the finger of a federal agent. (Tricia McLaughlin/X)
He said a crowd of violent agitators tackled an ICE special agent on Saturday, with one protester reportedly escalating the confrontation to an extreme level.
“The protester literally bit off part of that agent’s finger,” Charles said, adding that the officer received immediate medical attention at the scene and was taken to a hospital. “The officer is recovering but is now permanently maimed and has lost part of his finger.”
A protester allegedly bit off a finger of a federal agent in Minnesota, according to officials. (Tricia McLaughlin/X)
“The reality is – and this is what Commander Bovino and I have been talking about all week – we’re out here to arrest dangerous criminal illegal aliens so they can’t victimize innocent people in our communities anymore,” Charles added.
Charles said that since the beginning of ICE operations in Minnesota, the agency has arrested more than 3,400 illegal aliens, removing “criminals, gang members and terrorists” from local communities.
