According to federal authorities, a violent outbreak in Minneapolis disrupted an immigration arrest, allowing a suspect with a significant criminal background to escape, while a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer suffered a permanent injury when a protester bit off part of his finger.

During a press briefing on Sunday, U.S. Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino reported that both Border Patrol and ICE agents had to abandon a planned operation due to interference from large crowds that assaulted officers and created chaos at the scene.

This disruption led to the suspect evading capture, a situation Bovino attributed to the actions of politicians, activists, and individuals who challenged law enforcement.

“This individual remains free today,” Bovino stated. “The decisions by politicians and their followers, who chose to heed those directives, are to blame for this outcome. It’s a regrettable situation.”

In Evanston, Illinois, on December 17, 2025, U.S. Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino and other agents were confronted by shouting individuals while making a stop during an immigration enforcement operation. (Photo by 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.