The Trump administration is battling mounting political and public backlash after federal immigration agents fatally shot nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, with the officers involved placed on administrative leave
US president Donald Trump. File Pic
US President Donald Trump's border czar Tom Homan was set Thursday to present his plans at his first press conference as the new face of the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, after the agents involved in the fatal shooting of a nurse were placed on leave.
The two officers were on leave -- a move US officials said was "standard protocol" -- since Saturday, when 37-year-old Alex Pretti was shot multiple times after being forced to the ground by camouflaged agents in a scuffle captured on video.
Trump has scrambled to stem outrage across the political aisle over the killing, saying Tuesday he wanted to "de-escalate a little bit" in Minneapolis.
But the president backpedaled his conciliatory note Wednesday, accusing the city's mayor Jacob Frey of "PLAYING WITH FIRE" for refusing to rally local police to enforce the federal immigration crackdown.
The political battle could soon move to Congress, where Democrats are threatening to hold up authorization for swaths of US government funding if reforms are not made to rein in the sprawling military-style immigration agencies.
Frey responded Wednesday to Trump ramping up his rhetoric, writing on X: "The job of our police is to keep people safe, not enforce fed immigration laws."
"I want them preventing homicides, not hunting down a working dad," he added, referring to the Ecuadoran father of five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, both of whom are being held in a Texas facility after being detained by federal agents in the suburbs of Minneapolis.
The White House initially justified Saturday's fatal shooting of Pretti, an intensive care nurse whom Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem described as a "domestic terrorist."
But the backlash that ensued has forced Trump to shuffle the leadership of immigration agents deployed in Minneapolis.
He replaced the confrontational Greg Bovino, known for reveling in aggressive, televised immigration crackdowns, with the policy-focused Homan.
Homan was set to hold a press conference at 7 am (1300 GMT) Thursday in Minneapolis, the White House said.
Another high-ranking official, Attorney General Pam Bondi, was in Minneapolis on Wednesday as she announced the arrests of 16 Minnesota "rioters" for allegedly assaulting federal law enforcement.
Fury
While the White House insists it is targeting hardened criminals, the use of masked, heavily armed men to snatch people from streets, homes and workplaces has caused widespread shock.
That turned to fury this month after immigration agents shot dead two Minneapolis protesters at point-blank range in separate incidents -- Pretti and Renee Good, both US citizens.
Top Trump aide Stephen Miller initially justified Pretti's killing by branding him a "would-be assassin" -- despite video evidence clearly showing the nurse posed no threat as he was shot in the back while pinned down on the ground.
Late Tuesday, Miller said the Customs and Border Patrol agents who killed Pretti "may not have been following that protocol."
Meanwhile, US networks aired video reportedly showing Pretti in another violent scuffle with agents more than a week before his killing. The footage could not be immediately verified.
Clashes between protesters and federal immigration officers who are deployed to Democratic cities are increasingly common.
In Minneapolis, 39-year-old community activist Jennifer Arnold said little has changed since Trump's promise to ease tensions in the city.
"The Trump administration is saying that they're going to change tactics...but we are not experiencing anything different on the ground, people are still being snatched off the streets," Arnold told AFP.
Immigrant politician attacked
Trump's focus on Minnesota is linked to a probe into alleged corruption by Somali immigrants in the state, which he and right-wing allies have amplified as an example of what they say is a fight against criminal immigrants.
The president has persistently targeted Somali-born congresswoman Ilhan Omar for insults and mockery, saying she should be sent back to Somalia.
In the latest sign of a deteriorating political climate, a man sprayed Omar with an unknown liquid while she was giving a speech late Tuesday, before being tackled by security.
The suspect, 55-year-old Anthony Kazmierczak, was arrested on suspicion of assault.
Speaking to reporters in Minneapolis Wednesday evening, Omar said Trump's attacks against her helped fuel the incident.
"I wouldn't be where I am at today, having to pay for security, having the government to think about providing me security, if Donald Trump wasn't in office, and if he wasn't so obsessed with me," Omar said.
She added, however, that such intimidation "hasn't worked thus far, and it's not going to work in the future."
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