ICE Agents Want Out of Minnesota: Trump's 'Battle Is Lost'

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Daily Beast

Updated Jan. 27 2026 7:36AM EST
Published Jan. 27 2026 7:24AM EST


Experienced federal immigration agents in Minneapolis are privately raging about the killing of nurse Alex Pretti and want out of the mission they now see as “lost,” according to a new report. ICE and Border Patrol agents are said to have turned on the operation—and on their colleagues who blasted Pretti. The 37-year-old VA ICU nurse was shot multiple times in the back in a confrontation captured on video last Saturday.

The deadly incident followed another fatal shooting two weeks earlier by ICE agent Jonathan Ross, 43, of unarmed 37-year-old mom Renee Nicole Good, which has caused a leadership crisis inside the Department of Homeland Security—and a crisis of confidence on the frontline.

“This is a no-win situation for agents on the ground or immigration enforcement overall,” one Border Patrol agent wrote in a private chat obtained by journalist Ken Klippenstein and published on his Substack mailout. “I think it’s time to pull out of Minnesota, that battle is lost,” they added.

Anger towards federal agents grew in the wake of Good’s killing, with the Daily Beast reporting earlier this month that they feared for their own safety. Pretti’s death has made the feeling more pointed, Klippenstein reports.

Read more: https://www.thedailybeast.com/ice-border-patrol-agents-want-out-of-minneapolis-minnesota-donald-trump-kristi-noems-dhs-battle-is-lost/

---

“I think it’s time to pull out of Minnesota, that battle is lost," a Border Patrol agent said in a private chat I obtained:
www.kenklippenstein.com/p/ice-unloads

— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein.bsky.social) 2026-01-27T17:25:08.187Z

DHS is leaking like crazy right now.

If you’re DHS, join the movement by texting me at 202-510-1268 (Signal recommended)

— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein.bsky.social) 2026-01-27T17:46:01.966Z

If you work for DHS and hate your boss / leadership, you have the chance to do the funniest thing.

Be a legend

— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein.bsky.social) 2026-01-27T17:54:33.268Z

Border Patrol is circulating peer support materials for personnel in Minneapolis, per Metro Surge resiliency plan leaked to me.

"IT'S OKAY TO ASK FOR HELP," the document (marked "For Official Use Only" for some reason) reads

— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein.bsky.social) 2026-01-27T18:10:58.698Z

[durablend]

1. So which state are they hitting next?

Lest anyone think they're going to abort the mission.

[underpants]

3. Virginia or New Jersey

Both just elected female Democratic governors

[HipChick]

4. Already in Virginia...

They have several ICE detention centers in VA

[underpants]

18. Yes in Henrico County and buying a 550,000 sq. ft warehouse in Hanover

Last edited Tue Jan 27, 2026, 06:45 PM - Edit history (1)

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100220961758

[AverageOldGuy]

32. HANOVER COUNTY, VA

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MEETING WEDNESDAY, TOMORROW, 7:30 -- to consider the ICE proposal to lease/buy an empty warehouse.

BE THERE.

https://www.hanovercounty.gov/427/Board-of-Supervisors

Scroll down to MEETING DETAILS.

[underpants]

42. Not a resident. 2 weeks ago residents did turn out in the proposed data center

https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/hanover-planning-commission-hhhunt-data-center-rezoning-jan-15-2026

[regnaD kciN]

51. And in the Seattle area...

Numerous reports of raids and grabbing people on the street over the past couple weeks.

[IronLionZion]

28. The state of denial

[Easterncedar]

30. Maine is overrun, serious threat level. Colorado and Arizona are targets

My friends in Seattle are seeing ICE actions.

I

[Tree Lady]

36. They are opening offices in red cities

Even if no minorities, like my city. I saw a big ad on FB recruiting in my area. Didn’t even know we had an office, we have very little minorities in southern Oregon.

Makes since they would go to red areas to recruit.

[dflprincess]

46. Probably hoping to find more collaborators in red cities

that will let them get by with their shit.

[flashman13]

37. It doesn't matter. The people of Minnesota have shown the way. Confront ICE at every turn.

[FakeNoose]

2. What would they consider as a "win"?

Seriously, do they even know why they were sent there? I'm guessing these guys don't even read newspapers.

[Lovie777]

5. Bet they listen to fake news.......................

[Wuddles440]

7. And "the battle is lost"...

implies that they consider this to be a war and not the type of enforcement action that they are actually statutorily charged with performing.

[Lonestarblue]

24. It was never about migrants. It's was Trump's war on Democrats.

Undocumented migrants were just the excuse to create chaos.

[littlemissmartypants]

11. Gotta get them voter rolls for the midterms doncha know...

[FakeNoose]

26. Renee Good and Alex Pretti didn't have any voter data

[littlemissmartypants]

33. Have you checked that?

[KPN]

17. I'm not very sure they can read.

[IronLionZion]

29. A high kill count. "owning the libs". etc.

They still have way too many on the right cheering this on. It's sick.

[regnaD kciN]

52. This was coming from "experienced federal immigration agents"...

…in other words, probably agents who have served many years, and under administrations of both parties, and are therefore not J6 “veterans” and Proud Boy CoD cosplayers.

[patphil]

6. I think it's time to pull out of Minnesota, that battle is lost.

Is this how ICE and the Border Patrol think it is...it's a battle?
They're invading US cities, attacking the populace; inflicting injury sometimes fatal, and demonstrating a callous indifference to both the people and their property.

These cosplay "soldiers", dressed for battle like it's Vietnam and not America, see us as the enemy. It was only a matter of time before the violence escalated into the use of deadly force. And all the while their leadership is egging them on, and insisting they have immunity.

If nothing changes, there will be a whole lot more blood, as the body count rises.

[niyad]

8. FUCK YOU, YOU GODDAMNED MURDERING SCUM.

You are happily doing the work of a sick, twisted regime, terrorizing residents, acting like big, tough, manly men .you are just mad because you are not getting the love you feel yiou feel you deserve for being paid kiillers.

[littlemissmartypants]

13. .

[niyad]

40. Thank you.

[GopherGal]

53. "Big, Tough, Manly Men" of ICE

sure giving off a lot of over-compensating "Micro-Penis Energy"

[niyad]

55. They do indeed.

[travelingthrulife]

9. Fine. Then back to jail with you!

[groundloop]

10. I gather these are some pre-J6 agents..... what took them so long to speak up?

[littlemissmartypants]

12. MORE of this please.

[Moostache]

14. Hey ICE cubes...it does not end when you go elsewhere...

This NEVER ends for any of you.
We WILL find out who you are, you WILL be ID'd and you WILL face justice if you assaulted people, murdered people, abetted in the murder of people, unlawfully detained citizens, unlawfully entered private property, presented false or misleading credentials to illegally gather information or arrests, and IF YOU SHOT AND KILLED, YOU WILL NEVER ESCAPE ACCOUNTABILITY.

Your Orange leader will be dead long before the memory of your shame ebbs even a micro-fraction.
Your shame and dishonor is eternal and cannot be washed clean - EVER!

The chants and appropriate labeling of you as "Nazis" is NEVER going to end.

You signed up.
You took the bloodmoney.
You thought it was all LARPs and LOLs and owning Libs...
Your 'find out' portion of the proceedings would make 'Pinhead' (from the "Hellraiser" films) gleeful as:

[Tetrachloride]

15. The Home Court advantage. Minnesota.

Minnesota is just plain more cool than Alabama.

[Botany]

16. What "Battle" are they talking about?

A battle with the American Citizens of Minnesota? ICE & DHS are Trump’s thugs who see Americans
as the enemy when they stand up for their Constitutional rights.

[OldBaldy1701E]

19. "...the mission they now see as "lost," according to a new report"

Oh, now you see it as lost?

Not before this? Not when it was known from the beginning that this was a revenge move and had nothing to do with 'immigration'?

How about you just shove that sentiment right up your ass. You knew what you were doing and why you were doing it.

If you didn't, then it is even more appalling that you were given a badge and a gun.

No one that dense should be allowed to access dangerous things.

[ChicagoTeamster]

20. This is the time to really increase pressure on them at the hotels, gas stations, and following their caravans around.

Have semis slow pull in front and drive really slow. improvised wide loads with police escorts. Sorry, we're busy with legit work you'll have to wait.

[angrychair]

21. Literally they can all fuck off

I don't care if these Nazis are having a sad. They have no problems beating people or kidnapping children or murdering innocent people.
Fuck ice
Abolish ICE.

[Uncle Joe]

22. The loss occurred the very instant when they turned DUE PROCESS into a "battle"

Thanks for the thread BumRushDaShow

[duhneece]

23. While the state of New Mexico is blue...

My county that borders Mexico is as red and racist as they come. Our Sheriff is fundamentally red as is our County Commissioner Board.
While we are trying to organize, I’m not sure that’s going to be enough.
I think it’s just a matter of time before they come here.

[EarthFirst]

25. Methinks this has less to do with the mission and more to do with the locale...

I’d be willing to bet they’d be just fine with the mission if it was oh; say sunny and 70 degrees and not -20 and snowing in Minnesota.

I don’t buy for a minute any of their concern or self-preservation.

A moral conviction would require an immediate resignation notice…

[bucolic_frolic]

31. Rhetorical use of the term, but still they call it a "battle"

[Figarosmom]

34. Hopefully they'll leak the name of the agent

That shot Alex Pretti.

[Pinback]

35. Ok, how 'bout you show how sorry you are

by turning the murderers in.

[Warpy]

38. Yeah, I'll; just bet they do. MInnesota is fucking cold this time of year

not to mention all the propaganda and assurances of being able to hide behind their masks ;they were given didn't prepare them for pissing so many people off so completely. I'm sure some of those guys really believed the lies about cleaning up all those browfn criminals and making America great again, only to find out those "criminals" were neighbors, coworkers, and friends and the war of occupation against US cities was never going to be popular.

I think the announcement about deploying the LRAD system against us is just a last ditch attempt by the criminals in charge of our government to promise them new toys to play with and new ways to be cruel in order to try to keep them in the fold.

[underpants]

43. I was thinking last week- Where are these guys from?

There were some tremendously embarrassing wipeouts a few days in a row. I’m in the current ice cube that is Richmond Va and given my time in Germany (and having a brain that tells me not wipeout in my ass), you get in the SLOW THE F DOWN mode.

These gung Ho jacked up unaccountable goons (and very likely Jan 6ers as I read here today) must be from the South….and are dumbasses

[Solly Mack]

39. Fuckers are whining like they're the victims.

[IcyPeas]

41. THEN NAME THE KILLERS!

[pfitz59]

44. Time to disband DHS in its entirety

And keep Customs and Border Patrol at the border, under Commerce or Treasury. Shitcan ICE.

[BumRushDaShow]

45. +infinity

Take ALL those agencies that were cannibalized to create DHS, and put them and their roles BACK where they were before the Shrub DHS fiasco was created.

[dflprincess]

47. Interesting it says "experienced agents" want out.

I would guess these are the people who, once upon a time, followed the law when doing this job & didn't feel the need to be brutal just for the sake of hurting people.

Sadly, the recent hires, probably made up of Proud Boys and J6ers, are enjoying the hate.

From the link in the OP:

Morale inside the ranks is described as collapsing. One veteran ICE agent—one of six Klippenstein reportedly spoke to for the article titled “ICE Unloads”—bemoaned that “the brand new agents are idiots.” He blamed what he saw as lowered hiring standards for the chaos in Minnesota.

A newer recruit agreed that “a lot of the guys… are honestly pretty sketchy,” describing colleagues who pass around a flask on stakeouts and show off “weird tattoos”—the kind of

[Bluetus]

48. The fact that they call it a "battle" is all anybody needs to know.

It was never about Medicaid. It was never about immigration.

It was always about Trump establishing the precedent of invading cities.

What was lost was the plan to declare the Insurrection Act. And that was lost because of the overwhelming public outrage.

But these bastards are still building detention centers and still have $140 billion to spend terrorizing other cities, so we MUST keep the political pressure on to completely end this entire agency, including border patrol. We can stand up a new agency that respects Constitutional rights and does not thrive on terrorizing the public.

[hatrack]

49. Uruk-Hai Want Out Of Helm's Deep: Saruman's "Battle Is Lost"

[AllyCat]

50. It took the killing of a white man to make them realize this?

All the brown and female people before Mr Pretti didn’t count for them? How about kidnapping children? They don’t see the others as human so Alex Pretti’s murder finally got under their skin.

[OldBaldy1701E]

58. You grok well! (n/t)

[Aussie105]

54. The aim of the ICE presence was always about intimidation.

Mouthing 'reasons' won't change that.

The cosplaying Meal Team 6 ICE guys must have thought they were doing something heroic, something patriotic, something to earn them the respect of their family and neighbours.

Now they find out that they are considered a plague of mindless violence, intimidation and murder.

Must bring a certain level of disappointment to some of the cosplaying thugs.

I'm thinking they may all be white guys in their 20's and 30's who feel life hasn't given them what they assumed was their God given birthright and entitlement. Seething with resentment and blaming others.

Can't really think of reasons why anyone would want to volunteer for the ICE experience.

[llmart]

57. This pretty much describes who the ICE recruitment ads targeted as new hires.

"I'm thinking they may all be white guys in their 20's and 30's who feel life hasn't given them what they assumed was their God given birthright and entitlement. Seething with resentment and blaming others."

Your statement nails it. These are also the kind of guys who think they should be making the big salaries even though they didn't want to do the hard work of going to college or learning a trade.

[Skittles]

56. they picked on the wrong state

stupid assholes