Sakshi Venkatraman
US reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Immigration operations may be changing in the US city of Minneapolis as the new man in charge, White House border tsar Tom Homan, says he is working on a "draw-down" plan.

This morning, Homan said that federalagents will now focus on "targeted" operationsandthat these will be "safer, more efficient, by the book". Eventually, he added, there will be a reduction of agents in the city.

But he stressed: "We are not surrendering the president's mission on immigration enforcement."

At the same time, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has continued to hit back at ICE and the Trump administration.

"People have been indiscriminately pulled off the street," he said whilst addressing fellow mayors in DC today. "American citizens have been yanked away from their homes after that solely because they look like they are from Mexico or Ecuador or Somalia."

Meanwhile, a package that would have kept the US federal government funded has failed its first hurdle in the US Senate, with Democrats demanding changes linked to their concerns over the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.

Democratic leaders are pushing to remove funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis. Speaking at the start of today's cabinet meeting, Trump said that he's working on a "a bipartisan way not to have a shutdown".

And as the debate rages on on the future of ICE operations, communities in Minneapolis continue to mourn and protest for Pretti and Renee Good, who was also fatally shot by federal agents earlier this month.

We will be closing this live page shortly, but you can read a recap of today events here:

Border tsar Homan promises a 'draw down' of forces in Minneapolis

Image source, EPA

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz says US President Donald Trump compared the immigration operation in Minneapolis to the military operation in Venezuela during a recent conversation.

Walz has told US news channel MS Now that Trump had asked him "what's wrong with you people" whilst noting there hadn't been any issues with immigration operations in Louisville and New Orleans.

The Minnesota governor says he pointed out that nobody had been killed in those cities - arguing that the operation looks very different in his state. He says Trump responded by saying "it was successful in Venezuela".

"He told me how well that went," the governor adds. "What's strange to me was, he saw an operation in Venezuela against a foreign nation in the same context he saw an operation against a US state and a US city."

Walz has also said that in his conversations with the White House and with Tom Homan, "not once" had they mentioned Alex Pretti or Renne Good by name "or ask how the people of Minnesota are doing".

Earlier this week, Ecuador's government filed a complaint to US officials after what it described as an attempt by an ICE agent to enter its consulate in Minneapolis.

Video of the incident shows a consular official rushing to the entrance door and telling an ICE agent "this is the consulate, you're not allowed in here". The agent tells the official that "if you touch me, I will grab you". They eventually step away from the open door which is then closed by the consular official.

In a new statement about the incident, ICE says they were pursuing an immigrant with an alleged criminal record who fled into a building and accuse the consulate of sheltering him.

“Unknown to the ICE officers at the time, the building housed the Consulate of Ecuador, however, the building was not clearly marked as the Ecuadorian Consulate," ICE says in a statement to the BBC.

"The ICE officers were focused on arresting the criminal illegal alien, their own safety, and the safety of the public. At no time did the ICE officers enter the Consulate. The Consulate employees protected this public safety threat illegal alien. He is still at large.”

Previously, Ecuador's foreign ministry said its officials had acted "to guarantee the protection of the Ecuadorians who were inside the consulate at the time".

Under the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, external, spaces such as consulates are off limit to law enforcement in the host country "except with the consent of the head of the consular post".

• Read more of our coverage on the incident here

Are US sanctuary cities less safe?published at 19:46 GMT 29 January

19:46 GMT 29 January

By Jake Horton

In a news conference in Minneapolis earlier today, US border tsar Tom Homan said that America’s sanctuary cities ”endanger the residents of the community”. He went on to criticise the police departments in some cities for not working with federal immigration authorities.

So-called “sanctuary cities” are often described as such because they do not fully co-operate with the US government on immigration enforcement. As well as the state of Minnesota, cities including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago have sanctuary policies in places.

In some instances this means that local jails may not hand over illegal immigrants they have in custody to federal officials.

Various studies across many US cities and counties have shown that sanctuary policies don’t lead to communities being less safe.

A study published in 2020 by David Hausman, external, assistant professor at Berkeley Law School, compared statistics across more than 200 sanctuary counties and jurisdictions between 2010 and 2015. It found that although sanctuary policies did limit deportations, they didn’t result in higher crime rates.

Other studies, such as this one published in 2020, external and this one from 2022, external, came to the same conclusion.

And research by the Center for American Progress in 2017, external found that on average there are 35.5 fewer crimes committed per 10,000 people in counties that don’t transfer illegal immigrants in detention to ICE compared with those counties that do.

This a moment "where we all have to stand together", Frey says in the concluding lines of his speech.

"This is more important than being a Democrat or a Republican," he says.

"We cannot back down," he tells the mayors gathered, adding it is them that will "hold this democracy together".

As he departs the stage, he's given a standing ovation.

This is an opportunity to be a patriot and stand up for the liberties that the US holds dear, Frey says.

"As a nation of immigrants, it should not matter where you are from."

The Trump administration is attempting to "force nationwide outcomes on localised issues, leaving our own citizens as collateral damage", Frey says.

Image source, US Conference of Mayors

The Minneapolis mayor says the federal government has enormous power - one that far outweighs that of city authorities.

He says the federal government is demanding voter registration information in order to end what he calls a "siege" on Minneapolis.

He also decries what he sees as the justice department using investigations into him and others as a weapon.

Frey says it's not because they have done anything wrong, but because they are doing their job to speak on behalf of residents.

• For context: The US justice department has issued subpoenas to Democratic Minnesota officials, alleging they conspired to impede federal immigration officers in the state

To a swell of applause in the audience, Frey says the ICE operation "needs to end" - not just in Minneapolis but "nationwide".

This isn't about safety or immigration, he says, but "silencing a narrative that differs from the administration's".

Minneapolis is a safe city, Frey continues. But it's less safe when "roving bands of agents" - in reference to the ICE forces in Minneapolis - make families scared to go to school or the shops.

"Everybody is concerned," he adds.

Image source, US Conference of Mayors

The situation in Minneapolis is as bad as it looks on the news, says Frey as he continues his speech.

He says there are between 3,000 and 4,000 federal agents in the city, far outnumbering the 600 local police officers.

"People have been indiscriminately pulled off the street," he says. "American citizens have been yanked away from their homes after that solely because they look like they are from Mexico or Ecuador or Somalia."

"That's not how we operate in America.

"In America, we have these foundational principles of law. We abide by our constitution. The rule of law is not just something that you say, but it is something that we practice each and every day."

Frey says he didn't become mayor to "get into the business of defending democracy" but says Minneapolis is now on "the frontlines of a very important battle".

In a plea to the mayors gathered, Frey adds: "If we do not speak up, if we do not step out - it will be your city that is next."

Image source, US Conference of Mayors

Frey begins his speech by expressing thanks for the support shown across the US.

He says it's "heartwarming" to be with his fellow mayors in DC.

"We are now becoming defenders of our republic and the defenders of democracy."

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has just taken the stage at the United States Conference of Mayors in Washington DC.

We'll bring you any key lines - tap watch live above to follow along.

Image source, Getty Images

Shortly, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey will call for the end of immigration enforcement operations in his city at a mayors' conference in Washington DC.

Before his trip he said in a statement, "Minneapolis may be where we've seen one of the largest ICE deployment in the country, but it will not be the last if we fail to act."

"I'm going to Washington to make the case for ending this strategy and replacing it with approaches that build trust, improve safety, and put our residents first."

Asked separately to respond comments from Trump's border tsar about a potential reduction in ICE forces in Minneapolis, Frey's office says: "Any draw down of ICE agents is a step in the right direction — but my ask remains the same: Operation Metro Surge must end."

Frey is slated to speak at the United States Conference of Mayors from 13:40 local time (18:40 GMT) - we'll bring you the key lines here.

You can also watch a live stream of the event at the top of this page.

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

President Trump's cabinet meeting has just ended. Unlike previous cabinet meetings, not every department leader spoke today.

At the beginning of the meeting, Trump joked about how boring these meetings can get, and said he wanted to keep today's short.

Neither Trump nor the handful of cabinet members who spoke mentioned the ongoing unrest in Minnesota. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem did not speak.

None took questions from the media, unlike at previous meetings.

Image source, Getty Images

A man has been charged with forcible assault by a federal court after an audience member used a syringe to spray liquid at a Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar during an event she was hosting on Tuesday.

The accused is identified by the district court in Minnesota as Anthony Kazmierczak.

An accompanying affidavit from FBI agent Derek Fossi alleges Kazmierczak quickly approached Omar with a syringe in his hand while she was speaking, and sprayed her with a liquid that was later identified as a mixture of water and apple cider vinegar.

It also says the investigator interviewed a close associate of the accused, who told authorities that a few years ago, Kazmierczak was speaking to a person on the phone about Omar and said: "Somebody should kill that [expletive]."

Fossi says Omar was "visibly shaken" but continued her town hall. She later posted on X that she was okay.

Kazmierczak was separately charged by the local county court with third degree assault following the same incident on Tuesday.

A package that would have kept the US federal government funded has not made it through its first hurdle in the US Senate, with Democrats demanding changes linked to their concerns over the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.

The final tally was 45 yes votes to 55 no votes, with Republicans failing to reach the 60-vote threshold needed for the bill to move forward.

Several Republicans joined the Democrats in voting no on the bill, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune.

A government shutdown could begin at one minute after midnight on Friday if lawmakers cannot agree on a solution. Negotiations to agree on a funding plan will continue between now and then.

If a shutdown does happen, it would be the second within only a few months. But this time it would only be a partial shutdown, as legislation has already been passed to fund dozens of agencies through September.

Democrats in the Senate have been sparring with Republicans over the bill - pushing to remove funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis.

Image source, Getty Images

During his cabinet meeting, Donald Trump takes a moment to reference a possible government shutdown.

Democrats have been pushing to remove funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from a $1.2tn (£870bn) government spending package following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday.

Referencing achievements on economic growth, Trump tells his cabinet: "Hopefully we won't have a shutdown, we're working on that right now. The Democrats, I don't believe, want to see it either."

"We'll work in a very bipartisan way not to have a shutdown," he adds.

While we hear from Trump, we're also keeping an eye on the Senate floor, where the potential government shutdown is under discussion. We'll bring you any developments from there as we get them.

Image source, Getty Images

Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer just spoke about Minneapolis on the floor of the US Senate.

He says Democrats are willing to fund 96% of the government - but emphasises demands they have for changes to ICE operations that must be added first.

He highlights three:

• End the roving patrols
• Enforce accountability
• Masks off, body cams on

Schumer calls the killing of Alex Pretti a "moral abomination" as he describes ICE agents as "thugs".

"What ICE is doing outside the law is state sanctioned thuggery," he says. "Congress has the authority and the moral obligation to act."

He says Democrats are "ready to come to the table" and the Senate's Republican majority needs to "step up to the plate" and implement common sense reforms.

"Change is needed," he says. "It does not look like America, these pictures, and it's been unleashed by Donald Trump and the people under him."

US President Donald Trump is now holding his first cabinet meeting of the year in the White House.

We're monitoring the meeting and we'll bring you any top lines on this page.