Top Border Patrol official and other federal agents being investigated by Minneapolis prosecutors office 

By Brad Brooks

March 2 (Reuters) – A Minnesota prosecutor said on Monday that her office is investigating the “potentially unlawful behavior” of federal agents during Operation Metro Surge, a crackdown earlier this year on undocumented immigrants that met widespread community resistance and in which agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens, sparking nationwide outrage.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, whose jurisdiction includes Minneapolis,  said at a press conference that her office had created a portal that would allow the public to send in videos and other evidence of incidents they witnessed in which they think Gregory Bovino, who once called himself the “commander at large” of the U.S. Border Patrol, and other federal agents committed a crime. 

“We will investigate and pursue charging where appropriate, and we’ll seek collaboration with local law enforcement wherever and whenever needed,” Moriarty said. “Make no mistake, we are not afraid of any legal fight.”

While acknowledging the difficulty of successfully prosecuting federal agents, who enjoy strong legal protections against being charged for their actions, Moriarty added: “There is no absolute immunity for federal agents.” 

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees Border Patrol and ICE, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Moriarty said the federal government had not provided any information to her office.

Moriarty’s office earlier had established similar portals to collect evidence from the public about the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who were killed by federal agents. She said that investigations into their deaths are ongoing. 

The immigration enforcement surge began in early December. After the shootings of Good and Pretti, President Donald Trump’s Border czar, Tom Homan, took over the operation in late January from Bovino, who has drawn heavy criticism from Democrats and civil liberties proponents for his handling of crackdowns in Minnesota and elsewhere in the United States.

In January the Atlantic, citing a Homeland Security official and two people with knowledge of the change, reported that Bovino had been removed from his roving role and was to return to his former job as a Border Patrol sector chief in El Centro, California. Neither the White House nor the Department of Homeland Security has responded to requests for comment on Bovino’s current role.

Homan held talks with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and set a less confrontational tone. In  February, Homan announced that he was sending home thousands of agents, though he said immigration enforcement would continue. 

(Reporting by Brad Brooks in Colorado; Editing by Donna Bryson and Matthew Lewis)