(AFP) – President Donald Trump’s “border czar” arrived in Minneapolis on Tuesday as the US president struggled with damage control after the fatal shootings of two civilians fueled a storm of criticism over his signature immigration crackdown. Some federal agents — including Gregory Bovino, a Border Patrol commander famed for reveling in aggressive, televised immigration crackdowns — were expected to leave Minneapolis. Trump said that Tom Homan — the top US border security official, who brings a less confrontational communication style — was meeting with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey Tuesday. “I hear things are going very nicely,” Trump said.
The US president told reporters that he rejected the “assassin” label used by a top aide to describe 37-year-old protester Alex Pretti, who was shot at point-blank range over the weekend. But Trump also said people could not go to protests with guns — a reference to Pretti carrying a licensed firearm that was taken off him before he was shot. He also said that Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem would remain in her job despite the growing backlash over the shooting.
– Betrayal of ‘basic values’ –
Pretti’s death has sparked outrage nationwide, even among some of Trump’s usually ultra-loyal Republican allies in Congress. Former Democratic president Joe Biden on Tuesday said the situation “betrays our most basic values as Americans.” Former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have also spoken out. Pretti, shot multiple times after being knocked to the ground, was the second US citizen killed by immigration officers in Minneapolis this month, turning the city into ground zero of national tensions over Trump’s mass deportation policies. Protester Renee Good, a mother of three, was shot by an agent at point-blank range in her car on January 7.
The killings capped months of escalating violence in which masked, unidentified, and heavily armed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol agents have grabbed people suspected of violating immigration laws off the streets. The roving units are the spearhead for Trump’s vow to deport hundreds of thousands of people who are in the country illegally. But while the policy was initially popular, the chaotic and violent implementation is causing uproar. Despite multiple videos clearly showing that Pretti posed no threat, top officials initially claimed he had been intending to kill federal agents and described him as a “domestic terrorist.” Trump himself amplified the conspiracy theory on social media before retreating with a more conciliatory message.
Concern over the violence and the attempt to blame Pretti for his death quickly spread to Washington. Republican Senator Rand Paul said Tuesday that agents involved in the Pretti shooting should be put “immediately” on administrative leave. Centrist Democratic Senator John Fetterman — who rarely criticizes Trump — said “grossly incompetent” Noem should be fired.
– Protestors feel vindicated –
The turmoil could even result in suspension of wide swaths of US government funding with Democrats threatening to block approval of routine spending bills up for votes in the Senate later this week. At a demonstration in Minneapolis on Monday, locals expressed relief that ICE was expected to scale back. “It’s a vindication to some degree. We have a lot of fear around what kind of violence and reprisals might come as they leave,” protester Kyle Wagner told AFP. “Our neighborhoods and communities have been brutalized by them, so any decrease in the numbers and the severity is just a huge relief to the community that’s been suffering for months now.”
Jasmine Nelson, who was also at the demonstration, said she was inspired by locals coming together to protest the killings. “It’s really beautiful to see everyone get together like this and fight against these injustices,” she said.
– Roberto Schmidt with Sebastian Smith in Washington
© 2024 AFP
