*With an exclusive interview with Sam Hill, managing editor of The Minnesota Daily.*

After months of lengthy protests battling the presence of ICE in Minneapolis, the Trump administration has agreed to reduce presence by 700 agents in the city. This is following the firing of Captain-at-large Gregory Bovino, being replaced by the border czar himself, Tom Homan. 

This is a large success in the region’s fight against ICE and federal presence. Protests erupted after the murder of two U.S. citizens, mother Renee Good and VA ICU nurse Alex Pretti. Thousands showed up over the weeks, marching together through -20º weather and tear gas. 

The past three months have been chaotic on the ground in Minnesota, with nearly 3,000 agents descending on the streets. 

“Minnesotans [have been] going out and protesting, just in my neighborhood alone,” says Sam Hill, the managing editor at The Minnesota Daily, in an exclusive interview with the ThunderWord.

There have been several videos of ICE using a lot of force with people regardless if they are a man, woman, pregnant, or a teenager. The things being witnessed by many Minnesotans have been horrific, but what about the things that aren’t getting filmed? How far are these agents taking things when cameras aren’t around? Over the span of a month people have seen the horrific things they are willing to do. 

“The most important thing is to realize that we are living in a time where there are two narratives going around about ICE activities. One of them is from the folks in Minneapolis and one of them is from the administration,” Hill said.  “I feel like a lot of people don’t understand the scale of abuse that’s taking place in Minneapolis right now.”

Over the past month there has been a divide over the killing of both Renee Good and Alex Pretti, while some say that it was their fault, others say it was unjustified. Many are in agreement that the use of firearms against someone who is not seen as aggressive, or is not threatening your life is unjust.

Minnesota residents have been coming together, keeping a watchful eye out, and warning their neighbors. 

“We have people patrolling the streets looking for confirmed ICE vehicles, and ICE has adapted their tactics to face the horde of folks who are watching out for them,” said Hill.  Citizens are using whistles as a quick way to alert nearby people of ICE presence.

Hill continued, “Whether you believe in good cops and bad cops, you can’t even begin to have a good cop when you just pretend there’s no abuse happening.”

Recently a man that was in a detention facility located in Minnesota was taken to the hospital for a shattered skull, ABC writes.  ICE agents claimed the man, Alberto Castañeda, “purposefully ran headfirst into a brick wall.” 

Nurses tell the Associated Press that, “There was no way this person ran headfirst into a wall.”

“They don’t have oversight, they don’t report the things they’re doing,” states Hill. So how much are these masked men getting away with? “I was five minutes away from being tear gassed and I was just an observer,” said Hill, giving an inside look into what Minnesota residents are experiencing first hand. 

It is evident that ICE agents need more training when it comes to dealing with citizens and non-citizens, with many stating that agents have shown a lack of training. “I’ve heard this from multiple people that ICE agents in the field appear to be very unprofessional,” said Hill. 

Change has arrived thanks to the non-stop efforts made by Minnesotans. Homan cited the reduction as a result of increased cooperations between county jails and federal immigration officials in Minnesota. The reduction will leave an estimated 2,000 agents still across the state. 

As part of the ICE funding increase that was passed with the One Big Beautiful Bill, body cameras will also be integrated in ICE operations. “We will rapidly acquire and deploy body cameras to DHS law enforcement across the country,” Kristi Noem says in a tweet posted on X.

In an exclusive interview with NBC News, President Trump said, “Maybe we can use a little bit of a softer touch, but you still have to be tough.”

As the narrative shifts in Minnesota, federal operations against immigrants continue to take place.