President Donald Trump said his administration was going to de-escalate a little bit in Minnesota, after the second fatal shooting of a US citizen by federal immigration officers there.
Bottom line, it was terrible. Both of them were terrible, he said in a Fox News interview on Tuesday.
In early January, Renee Good was fatally shot by an immigration officer, followed by Alex Pretti, who was killed after being stopped by border agents this past weekend.
Pretti's death reignited local protests and public outcry across the country, and led to criticism from lawmakers in both parties. Trump's remarks are the latest sign his administration is taking a step back on its operations in Minnesota.
On Monday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) pulled the Minnesota mission's leader and figurehead, Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino, from the state. DHS said it was deploying the White House's border tsar, Tom Homan, to take over there, with Homan set to meet with local officials this week. On Tuesday, he posted on social media that he had met with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and local law enforcement officials.
Speaking to other reporters ahead of a rally in Iowa Tuesday night, Trump said he viewed the killing of Pretti, an intensive care nurse at a veterans' hospital, as a very unfortunate incident. He also commented on characterisations of Pretti as a domestic terrorist, stating, I haven't heard that. Trump further added, He shouldn't have been carrying a gun.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Pretti was shot because he was brandishing a gun during a confrontation, while local authorities contended that the firearm was legally registered and that Pretti was shot after it was removed.
DHS officials have claimed that the agents fired in self-defense after Pretti resisted attempts to disarm him; however, eyewitnesses noted that he had a phone in his hand, not a weapon.
He wasn't there to peacefully protest, he was there to perpetuate violence, Noem stated shortly after the incident, labeling Pretti's actions as domestic terrorism.
Pretti's death, coming two weeks after Renee Good's shooting, has led to outrage from local residents and renewed demands for the Trump administration to withdraw its 3,000 immigration agents and officers from the area.
In the interview with Fox News, Trump defended the Minnesota operation, claiming it had successfully removed thousands of hardened criminals from the state, resulting in improved crime statistics. That's all working out, we have Tom Homan there now, he noted before reiterating the intention to de-escalate operations.
Stephen Miller, a senior White House aide involved in immigration policy, stated that the administration had directed DHS to utilize extra personnel in Minnesota for operations intended to separate arrest teams from potential disruptors. He also indicated that the White House was investigating why protocols weren't followed during the incident.
Calls for investigations into Pretti's death have emerged from various Republican leaders, including Vermont Governor Phil Scott and US Senator Pete Ricketts of Nebraska, who demanded a fair and thorough inquiry into the shooting.
A federal judge has blocked DHS from altering evidence related to the case.
During his speech at a rally in Iowa, focused primarily on his economic policies, Trump refrained from delving deeply into the Minnesota situation but reiterated his broader immigration policies, highlighting that a significant majority of Americans support his initiatives to deport illegal immigrants who have committed crimes.
