(AFP) – Minneapolis residents waited for Washington to fulfill its promise to “de-escalate” immigration operations in the city on Wednesday, as Donald Trump’s top aide says federal agents may have breached “protocol” before the fatal shooting of a US citizen.
Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse, was killed during a confrontation with federal agents in Minneapolis on Saturday — the second fatal shooting by immigration officers in the city this month. His death has become a political flashpoint in Trump’s immigration crackdown, triggering an unusually broad backlash that threatens to shut down large parts of the federal government. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer described Pretti’s death as “concerning” on Wednesday, and French basketball star Victor Wembanyama said he was “horrified” by the news.
The US president told Fox News on Tuesday that he was “going to de-escalate a little bit” in Minneapolis following the shooting, but stressed that the plan was not a “pullback.” The Republican also acknowledged to the conservative broadcaster that Gregory Bovino, a hardline Border Patrol commander who is now expected to leave the city, was also “a pretty out-there kind of a guy.” Trump added that Bovino’s presence may not have helped the situation.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller told AFP that the administration is evaluating whether the Customs and Border Protection (CBP), who gunned down Pretti, failed to follow “clear guidance” to “create a physical barrier between the arrest teams and the disruptors.” “We are evaluating why the CBP team may not have been following that protocol,” Miller said in a statement. The White House later clarified that Miller was referring to “general guidance” to immigration agents in Minnesota.
Trump, scrambling to damage control the situation, told reporters at a White House news briefing on Tuesday that he rejected the “assassin” label previously used by Miller to describe Pretti, adding that he wants “a very honorable and honest investigation.” However, the situation in Minneapolis has far from de-escalated, with Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar attacked by a man at a constituent town hall with a syringe of unknown liquid on Tuesday. Omar had just spoken about the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and demanded that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem “resign or face impeachment.” Trump said Noem would not step down and was doing a “very good job.”
A 34-year-old man suspected of human trafficking also suffered serious injuries after exchanging gunfire with Border Patrol agents in Arizona on Tuesday, local authorities said.
– ‘Serious negative impacts’ –
After meeting with Trump border czar Tom Homan on Tuesday, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said in a statement that they discussed the “serious negative impacts this operation has had on Minneapolis.” He said the city “will not enforce federal immigration laws.” Pretti was killed just weeks after the fatal shooting of protester Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 7.
The killings capped months of escalating violence in which masked, unidentified, and heavily armed ICE and border patrol agents have grabbed people they accuse of violations off the streets. Despite multiple videos showing that Pretti posed no threat, Bovino and Noem had initially claimed Pretti intended to kill federal agents, calling him a “domestic terrorist.”
– Government shutdown –
Republican Senator Rand Paul said on Tuesday that agents involved in the Pretti shooting should be put on administrative leave, later adding that the immigration enforcement leaders would testify before Congress next month. The unrest in the city could result in a fresh US government shutdown, with Democrats calling for broad reforms to federal immigration operations at DHS and threatening to block approval of its funding, as part of the spending bills that go up for votes in the Senate later this week.
The judicial branch also pushed back on Trump’s actions in Minneapolis on Tuesday, when a US judge blocked the deportation of a five-year-old boy and his father, who were detained last week in another incident that went viral. Veteran Brian Furgen, 55, told AFP at a protest at the Minnesota State Capitol on Tuesday that Americans need immigration and customs enforcement agents who “know how to do the job without harming the community.”
burs-dk/lga/ane – Roberto Schmidt with Danny Kemp in Washington
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