Trump says he’ll ‘de-escalate’ Minnesota immigration crackdown even as raids continue | Minnesota ICE shootings
Without providing further details, Donald Trump claimed he would “little down” the pressure on immigration enforcement in Minnesota as he tries to quell the backlash following two deadly shootings by federal agents as raids continue unabated.
The president has not said whether he will change tactics, and federal immigration raids have continued in the state, including an incident on Tuesday when agents tried to enter the Ecuadorian consulate in Minneapolis without permission.
The fallout from the killing of Alex Pretti on Saturday continued to haunt the White House even as Trump traveled to a rally in Iowa to make remarks about the economy in hopes of boosting Republicans ahead of November’s midterm elections.
Trump limited his views on Pretti’s killing, telling reporters before the Iowa incident that he did not think Pretti was an “assassin,” a term used by his deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, but continued to blame Pretti for carrying a gun he was licensed to own.
Still, backlash against the agents’ aggressive tactics remained harsh, and the National Rifle Association criticized the administration for ignoring Pretti’s constitutional and legal right to bear arms.
The third round of No Kings protests, sparked by the killing of two US citizens in back-to-back incidents during an immigration operation in Minnesota, is planned for March 28. The demonstration, organized by groups across the country, is expected to be attended by some as many as 9 million people, making it the largest protest in US history.
“This is largely a response to the disgusting attacks on our democracy and our communities from the regime and the feeling that no one is coming to save us,” said Ezra Levin, co-executive director of the nonprofit Indivisible.
Trump insisted on Tuesday that he was awaiting the results of a “highly honorable and honest investigation” into Pretti’s shooting conducted by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the US Border Patrol’s parent agency. As was the case with shootings involving federal officers until recently, there was no civil rights investigation by the U.S. justice department.
The rapidly changing nature of the situation also seems to have caught Trump off guard at times. Trump on Wednesday, following his suggestion over the weekend that he was “on the same wavelength” as Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. He expressed his disappointment in a post on Truth Social That Frey would not assist federal immigration officers.
“Shockingly, Mayor Jacob Frey said, ‘Minneapolis does not and will not enforce Federal Immigration Laws,'” Trump wrote. he wrote. “Can someone in the inner sanctum please explain that this statement is a very serious violation of the Law and PLAYING WITH FIRE?”
Frey responded hours later, saying in his own post on X that he did not want local police to step in to assist with immigration enforcement.
“Our police’s job is to keep people safe, not to enforce federal immigration laws. I want them to prevent murders, not go after an Ecuadorian working father who contributes to MPLS,” Frey wrote.
At the White House, Trump initially appeared to punish Noem for falsely portraying Pretti as a “domestic terrorist” and replaced her lieutenant, U.S. border patrol commander Gregory Bovino, with Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan.
Still, Noem’s job appeared secure after she met with Trump in the Oval Office and complained that she had been unfairly accused, claiming her remarks were written by Miller.
Miller, meanwhile, blamed Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) for allegedly providing false information to the White House after attacking Pretti immediately after her death, and placed the blame on Bovino.
“The White House has given DHS clear direction that the extra personnel sent to Minnesota for force protection should be used to conduct fugitive operations to create a physical barrier between arrest teams and separatists,” Miller said.
“We are evaluating why the CBP team did not follow this protocol.”
A preliminary report by CBP’s internal monitor delivered to lawmakers Tuesday said he was shot by two U.S. Border Patrol agents while resisting arrest. The report also did not mention Noem’s initial claims that Pretti “wanted to inflict maximum damage and decimate law enforcement officers” or that he was “brandishing” a gun when he was attacked by agents and shot roughly 10 times in the back.
