MINNEAPOLIS (AFP) — Facing mounting political pressure, the Trump administration initiated a strategic recalibration of its immigration enforcement tactics on Monday. President Trump deployed his senior border security official, Tom Homan, to Minneapolis with instructions to report directly to the White House, signaling heightened concern over escalating violence during immigration raids.
The administration’s conciliatory shift emerged as viral videos of federal agents shooting protesters sparked nationwide demonstrations and elicited rare criticism from within Trump’s Republican Party. The President held uncharacteristically diplomatic conversations with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, both Democrats whom he had previously accused of corruption.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt expressed regret over the death of Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse fatally shot at point-blank range by immigration officers during protests on Saturday. This marked a stark contrast to earlier administration characterizations of Pretti as a ‘domestic terrorist.’
Despite these tactical adjustments, the administration maintained its commitment to aggressive immigration enforcement. Leavitt emphasized that ‘hundreds of thousands’ of undocumented immigrants remained targets for deportation, and there was no indication of a broader policy retreat.
The political fallout intensified as Republican Congressman James Comer, typically a Trump loyalist, called for withdrawing federal agents from Minneapolis. The crisis deepened when Republican Chris Madel abandoned his gubernatorial campaign, citing inability to remain in a party inflicting ‘retribution on citizens.’
Legal challenges advanced simultaneously, with federal judges considering whether the deployment violated state sovereignty and ordering preservation of evidence in Pretti’s killing. Congressional Democrats threatened government funding legislation unless immigration enforcement agencies undergo substantial reforms.