(Minneapolis) Hardening or appeasement? Donald Trump’s special envoy to Minneapolis must publicly present his plan on Thursday to restore calm in a city that is standing up to the administration after the death of a nurse killed in an altercation with federal agents.
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Tom Homan is scheduled to speak at 8 a.m. local time (9 a.m. Eastern time) while the standoff between federal agencies and local authorities on the one hand, and the Republican administration and Democratic opposition on the other, continues unabated.
The metropolis of the northern United States, which has become the emblem of Donald Trump’s anti-immigration policy, remains in shock at the death of two Americans shot dead by federal agents: Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse, killed on Saturday by members of the border police (CBP), and Renee Good, a mother of the same age, on January 7 by the immigration police (ICE).
The presidential envoy was urgently dispatched to Minneapolis this week to regain control of a flammable situation. But Donald Trump alternates signs of calm with vindictive remarks.
On Wednesday, the border police announced that they had suspended two agents involved in the death of Alex Pretti from Saturday. A “standard” procedure, a spokesperson told AFP.
The American president, after promising a “small de-escalation” and a partial withdrawal of the masked men who are traumatizing the Midwest city, resumed his incendiary rhetoric against the Democratic mayor of Minneapolis.
Jacob Frey said he would “not enforce federal laws” on immigration.
“Could someone (…) explain to him that this statement constitutes a very serious violation of the law and that he is PLAYING WITH FIRE,” Mr. Trump launched on his Truth Social platform.
The hunt for undocumented immigrants “has nothing to do with security or (…) with immigration. This is political retaliation and it should worry (…) everyone in America,” insisted the councilor.
“Never the same again”
In Washington, this deployment could trigger a federal budgetary paralysis at the end of the week. The Democratic camp wants to prevent Donald Trump from financing his fight against immigration, even if it means going as far as a new complete shutdown (“shutdown”).
PHOTO SETH HERALD, REUTERS
Protesters hold signs during a demonstration against the presence of federal immigration agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota, January 28, 2026.
At the same time, a federal judge banned the detention of refugees who still lack permanent resident status but are legally residing in Minnesota.
In his order published Wednesday, Judge John Tunheim considered that the administration could continue “lawful enforcement of immigration laws”, but must do so “without arresting or detaining” these people legally admitted to American soil. He called for the release of refugees currently in this situation.
A sign that the Trump administration does not intend to relax its grip, Attorney General Pam Bondi declared on X that 16 “rioters” suspected of having “attacked federal law enforcement agents” had been arrested.
On site, the fear of raids continues to mobilize citizens who take to the streets to flush out federal police officers.
“Kidnapped from the Street”
“I have the impression that the crimes committed against the residents of Minneapolis have reached such a level that we will never be the same again,” assured AFP Dylan Alverson, owner of a solidarity café.
On Tuesday, Minnesota Democratic MP Ilhan Omar, one of Donald Trump’s favorite targets, was attacked by a man with a syringe filled with an unidentified foul-smelling liquid. The FBI took over the investigation. CNN, citing police sources, says it was probably cider vinegar.
The Trump administration has always claimed that its operations in Minnesota were rooted in a welfare fraud scandal involving the Somali community, where Ilhan Omar comes from.
“We don’t see anything changing on the ground, people are still being kidnapped in the street,” summarizes to AFP Jennifer Arnold, 39, who created a support network in Minneapolis to take migrant children to school.
Videos analyzed by AFP and other media discredit the thesis first defended by the American administration according to which Alex Pretti, who legally carried a weapon, threatened the police.
In a new video broadcast by several American channels and which could not immediately be authenticated by AFP, we see him during a violent altercation with federal agents, including kicking a vehicle, more than a week before his death.
