The presence of thousands of officers in Minneapolis has sparked massive protests and an unprecedented political crisis between the federal government and local authorities.
Donald Trump announced this Monday that he will send Tom Homan, his top border policy official, to Minnesota to take direct control of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in the state. The decision comes two days after Border Patrol agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse, on a street in south Minneapolis. This is the second US citizen killed by federal agents in less than three weeks in the city.
“I will be sending Tom Homan to Minnesota tonight. He hasn’t been involved in that area, but he knows and respects many people there. Tom is tough, but fair, and he will report directly to me,” Trump wrote on his social media. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt clarified that Homan will manage ICE operations on the ground and coordinate fraud investigations that, according to the administration, have cost taxpayers billions of dollars.
Pretti was shot and killed Saturday at 9:05 a.m. at the intersection of 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue while filming the officers with his cell phone. Multiple videos verified by Reuters, The New York Times, ABC News, and The Wall Street Journal show that the nurse never drew a weapon and was recording with his phone when agents pepper-sprayed him and knocked him to the ground. One agent was captured on video moving away from the scuffle with what appears to be Pretti's weapon, less than a second before another agent opened fire. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara confirmed that Pretti had a license to carry a firearm and had no criminal record.
He had arrived at the scene “to inflict maximum damage” and described his actions as “domestic terrorism.” The available videos contradict this official version. Pretti's family issued a statement describing the administration's statements as "repugnant lies" and noted that their son was holding his phone in his right hand while trying to protect a woman who had just been pushed by an officer.
In an unexpected turn of events, Trump announced hours later that he had spoken by phone with Democratic Governor Tim Walz. "It was a very good call, and we actually seemed to be on the same wavelength," wrote the president, who days earlier had accused Walz of inciting insurrection. The president said the governor agreed to cooperate in handing over criminals in state custody.
Saturday's shooting adds to the death of Renée Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, shot and killed on January 7 by ICE agent Jonathan Ross while she was driving her vehicle. An independent autopsy commissioned by her family revealed that Good was shot three times, including once in the head. O'Hara noted that of the three homicides recorded in Minneapolis so far in 2026, two were perpetrated by federal agents.
Minnesota is experiencing an unprecedented crisis since the Department of Homeland Security launched the so-called Operation Metro Surge in December. The administration described it as "the largest immigration enforcement operation ever conducted," with the deployment of up to 3,000 federal agents in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. The official pretext has been the pursuit of fraud in social assistance programs linked to the Somali community.
The impact on daily life has been devastating. More than one hundred schools in the Minneapolis district temporarily closed, affecting 30,000 children, and businesses in the area report losses of between 50% and 80% of their income. State Attorney General Keith Ellison called the deployment a "federal invasion" and filed a lawsuit to stop the operations, arguing that they violate the Tenth Amendment and the police powers reserved to the states. The arrival of Homan, a Border Patrol veteran who previously led ICE during Trump's first term, represents a move toward centralized control at a time of heightened tension. While the White House presents it as a measure to restore order, Minneapolis City Council member Soren Stevenson interpreted it as “another escalation” that deepens the conflict between Washington and a state governed by Democrats. The outcome of this crisis, which has already left two dead and thousands detained, remains uncertain.
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