Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown has turned into a full-blown tactical and morale disaster for rank-and-file federal immigration officers, and now even some of the agents deployed to Minneapolis want out. Agents on the ground privately describe the operation as a “lost battle,” with plummeting morale, leadership shake-ups, and a growing belief they’ve been thrown into a political spectacle, not a legitimate law-enforcement operation.
Multiple current and former federal officials confirm the frustrations, telling outlets that long hours, unrealistic quotas, and constant antagonism from the public are fueling internal disillusionment among Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Border Patrol personnel.
According to The Independent, morale has “plummeted” following two fatal shootings by federal agents in Minneapolis, including the killing of ICU nurse Alex Pretti, and agents say they are being unfairly blamed for actions by separate Border Patrol units while being tasked with duties far outside their core mission.
The situation escalated when Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino, the highly visible leader of the Minneapolis deployment, was demoted and is expected to depart the city, a sign of internal turmoil and shifting White House strategy. Multiple news outlets report Bovino and some of his units are set to leave Minnesota as the administration scrambles to quell the fallout.
What has really rattled some agents and the public is the backlash after the Jan. 24 death of Pretti, who was shot multiple times by federal agents during an interaction that local video contradicts official accounts. Crowds angrily protested outside hotels where immigration agents were staying, chanting “ICE out now” and clashing with law enforcement, according to photos and live reporting from multiple sources.
Public condemnation isn’t limited to local activists. National opinion polling shows support for abolishing ICE is rising sharply, even among Republicans — a striking development for a party that pushed aggressive immigration enforcement as a core policy pillar.
Federal leadership’s response has only widened the rift. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has doubled down on Trump administration talking points, even labeling Pretti a “domestic terrorist,” a characterization rejected by Pretti’s family. Meanwhile, elected officials from Minnesota’s Attorney General to the city’s mayor are pushing to remove federal agents entirely.
Internally, frustration runs so deep that some agents have reportedly begged to be removed from duty in Minneapolis, telling colleagues they are “freaking out” and fearful of being targeted or held accountable for actions they didn’t initiate. “Agents are getting seriously paranoid, afraid of being targeted by ‘retaliators,’” one source said, echoing sentiment that the mission has devolved into chaos rather than enforcement.
The combined reporting paints a picture of an immigration operation spiraling out of control, with wavering agent commitment, leadership instability, and exploding public outrage that’s now bleeding into national politics — leaving the Trump administration facing a crisis it may not be able to contain.
