ICE

Border Czar Tom Homan announced hundreds of federal law enforcement personnel will be pulled out of Minnesota Wednesday ... following weeks of unrest across the state.

At a press conference Wednesday morning, Homan said, "Given this increase in unprecedented collaboration, and as a result of the need for less public safety officers to do this work and a safer environment, I am announcing, effective immediately, we’ll draw down 700 people effective today -- 700 law enforcement personnel."

That's about a quarter of federal officers -- including ICE agents -- deployed throughout Minnesota, according to The Associated Press.

Homan cited "unprecedented" increased cooperation with local and state officials as the reason for the reduction. He said about 2,000 officers will remain in Minnesota.

"My goal with the support of President Trump is to achieve a complete drawdown and end this surge as soon as we can, but that is largely contingent on the end of the illegal and threatening activities against ICE and its federal partners that we’re seeing in the community,” he said, KSTP-TV reports.

Homan described ICE's operations in Minnesota as "very effective as far as public safety goes," adding ... "Was it a perfect operation? No. No. We created one unified chain of command to make sure everybody is on the same page. And make sure we follow the rules. I don’t think anybody, purposely, didn’t do something they should have done."

Thousands of federal agents have been sent to Minnesota since December as part of Operation Metro Surge ... and huge civilian crowds have protested immigration raids across the state amid violent detentions of people, including legal residents and children.

Three people have been shot -- including U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who both died -- in Minneapolis in January by CBP and ICE officers. Good and Pretti were both protesting when they were killed.

Alex Pretti's shooting death in Minnesota has officially been classified as homicide ... according to the medical examiner in the case.

A new document from the Hennepin County Medical Examiner says Pretti's manner of death is homicide.

The doc, obtained by TMZ, lists "multiple gunshot wounds" as the cause of death ... and under the section "how injury occurred" medical examiner Dr. Andrew Baker wrote, "Shot by law enforcement officer(s)."

Reverend Jordan Wells has been an NFL fan his whole life ... but he told us he's boycotting the Super Bowl this year -- and not because his beloved Kansas City Chiefs didn't make it ... it's because Bad Bunny's headlining the halftime show.

Wells stopped by "TMZ Live" to explain his boycott of Super Bowl LX has nothing to do with Bad Bunny singing in Spanish ... it has everything to do with the Puerto Rican superstar supposedly making himself an activist, who Wells says, is demonizing one half of the country.

Wells says ... "I expect this Super Bowl to be the most political Super Bowl we have ever seen, because of who they picked and because of how the NFL has handled that."

Celebs were lining up at the Grammys to speak out against ICE ... but Jelly Roll wanted no part of it, flat-out dodging the topic and calling himself a "dumb redneck" when asked for his take.

Fresh off winning 3 Grammys Sunday, Jelly was pressed backstage about what’s going on in the country RN, but he shut it down fast ... saying nobody should care about his opinion, especially since he hasn’t been keeping up with the news and didn’t even have a phone for 18 months at one point recently.

JR traced his disconnection from politics all the way back to his childhood ... growing up in a "drug-addict household" full of "insane pandemonium" and admitting he "didn’t even know politics were f***ing real" until landing in jail in his mid-20s.

Darius Dixson walked into L.A. hotspot TAO as a 2-time Grammy winner for his song "Folded" last night ... but he told us the most important thing was his collaborator Kehlani's speech.

DIXSON told us ... "The most important artists of our time say important things when it counts, and I believe that Kehlani is just doing what she's supposed to do, and I'm gonna stand next to her, man."

ICYMI ... Kehlani went after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement head-on Sunday.

During her acceptance speech, she said, "Everybody is so powerful in this room, and together we're stronger in numbers to speak against all the injustice going on in the world right now."

Lady Gaga seems to have given Bad Bunny some meaningful words of encouragement moments before he took home Album of the Year at last night's Grammys ... and the sweet moment was caught on camera.

Benito was quietly sitting at his table ahead of the big announcement during a break in the show ... when Gaga approached him from behind, tapped his right shoulder and startled him nearly out of his seat.

While the video doesn't capture any audio ... she was seen leaning in and whispering something in his ear before giving him a gentle hug. He lets out a deep sigh of relief, as she heads back to her seat.

Don Lemon was welcomed with a rousing standing ovation at Clive Davis' annual pre-Grammy Awards party at the Beverly Hilton Hotel Saturday ... after his hugely controversial arrest.

As you know ... Lemon was arrested Thursday night in Los Angeles for allegedly co-conspiring with protesters to disrupt a church service in Minneapolis. Of course, Lemon contends that -- as a journalist -- he was just reporting on the events taking place.

The Trump administration seems to have turned Don into a folk hero of sorts, representing the fight against what many view as an assault on the institutions of America's democracy.

The Rock's daughter, Ava, can say whatever she wants now that she's left WWE ... and her first free words were quite liberal indeed ... and directed straight at Donald Trump.

Simone Alexandra Garcia Johnson tweeted, "and now that i can say this with my full chest, [middle finger emoji] ice and that entire administration."

This comes after Ava announced Friday she would not be renewing her contract with WWE, which just expired.

A 5-year-old boy whose detention by ICE agents sparked national outrage is finally heading home.

Liam Conejo Ramos returned to Minneapolis on Sunday with his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, after the two were released from a family detention center in Texas following nearly two weeks in custody. Footage obtained by ABC News shows the father and son boarding a plane back to Minnesota, with Adrian carrying his sleeping child.

"I'm happy to finally be going home," Adrian told the network.

The 5-year-old and his father detained by ICE in Minnesota are free to go ... so says a federal judge.

The order -- cited by CNN -- reportedly states authorities should release Liam Ramos and his father "as soon as practicable" ... but no later than Tuesday, February 3.

As we told you ... Liam was allegedly used as "bait" when federal agents reportedly told him to knock on his front door to see if any adults were home -- according to Minnesota Public Radio News.

President Trump sicking federal prosecutors on Don Lemon for reporting live from an ICE protest could have massive implications for our democracy ... and the decision to charge the former CNN host with federal crimes is sparking a spirited debate between attorneys Mark Geragos and Harvey Levin.

Mark and Harvey -- hosts of the "2 Angry Men" podcast -- have vastly different views on what played out in Minnesota this month ... when Don reported on an anti-ICE protest that disrupted a church service.

The feds arrested Don and charged him with a couple crimes, alleging he was part of the protest and not just an independent observer reporting on a newsworthy event. Harvey says the charges are bogus and based on lies, and he's taking it as an attack on the free press, which he says is a bad sign for the future of democracy in the United States.

Grammys weekend has officially commenced -- but singer Becky G has more than music on her mind as she showed up to the 2026 MusiCares Person of the Year Gala Friday protesting ICE.

Check out the pics -- she proudly walked the carpet showing off her fresh nails spelling out the phrase "F*** ICE" ... flashing her hands to the camera with a kissy face.

Becky G is a Mexican-American singer who grew up in California ... but she's had massive success in Latin music after she broke out with her hit English song "Shower" in 2014.

Former CNN host Don Lemon got hit with federal charges for reporting from an ICE protest, but he's getting one-upped by CNN reporter Veronica Miracle ... 'cause she just got hit with tear gas during her wild live shot from an ICE protest.

Check out this footage that just aired on CNN ... Veronica is reporting live from an ICE protest Friday in downtown Los Angeles when all of a sudden the crowd is tear gassed ... and she gets a face full of chemical irritants.

Veronica toughs it out and continues with her report ... and it looks like she also got hit by a non-lethal round of some kind.

Ellen DeGeneres’ gander across the pond looks like it hit pause -- 'cause she popped up back in Montecito mansion-hunting ... the same day of calling for a nationwide shutdown.

The ex-talk show host preached in an IG post, "no work, no school, no shopping" in protest over ICE brutality in Minnesota -- something tons of other Americans have been preaching today -- but that vibe didn’t exactly stick while out in luxe-land touring not one, but two mega-mansions Friday. Talk about do as I say, not as I stroll!

Take a look at these pics -- these weren’t casual Zillow scrolls -- we’re talking $35M and $17M spreads, beach strolls, full walkthrough mode with wife Portia de Rossi by her side.

Jane Fonda says the federal government took down the wrong Don ... calling out Trump's admin for arresting Don Lemon instead of the commander-in-chief.

The legendary actress passionately defended the former CNN anchor outside the federal courthouse where Lemon had a court hearing after his arrest for allegedly breaking up a church service ... and she told assembled protesters not to fall for the government's tricks.

Fonda says Don was just a journalist doing his job ... no more, no less -- and certainly no reason for the feds to lock him up.

Federal prosecutors are explaining why they have the gall to arrest and charge Don Lemon in connection with his coverage of an ICE protest that disrupted a Minnesota church service ... they claim he wasn't reporting from the sidelines, and was part of the plot to raid the church.

According to the federal indictment, obtained by TMZ, prosecutors allege Don conspired with protestors to "injure, oppress, threaten, and intimidate" clergy, staff, and congregants at Cities Church in Minneapolis.

The feds say Don met up with the protestors before the demonstration and got instructions on where they would be protesting and how the "operation" would go down once at the church.

Prosecutors say Don started livestreaming the morning of the Jan. 18 protest, telling his audience he was in Minnesota with an organization that was gearing up for a "resistance" operation against the federal government's immigration policies.

The feds say Don took steps to "maintain operational secrecy" by not revealing the location of the planned protest to his audience ... and prosecutors say he stepped away from a live mic so he "would not accidentally divulge certain portions of the planning session."