(Minneapolis) The mayor of Minneapolis announced Monday that federal agents, deployed by President Donald Trump to fight immigration, will leave this Minnesota city starting Tuesday.
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“Some federal agents will begin leaving the area tomorrow, and I will continue to fight to get the rest (agents) involved in this operation to leave,” Democrat Jacob Frey wrote on X.
For his part, Donald Trump called for an end to the violence in Minnesota, where he sent a close adviser, in the face of the wave of indignation sparked by the death of a second American demonstrator killed by federal immigration agents.
The death of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse, during a demonstration on Saturday in Minneapolis, is a “tragedy” and the American president “does not want to see people injured or killed in the streets,” said the White House spokesperson during a press briefing.
But Mr. Trump also demands “an end to the resistance and chaos” which he attributes to local Democratic elected officials, according to Karoline Leavitt.
A little earlier, the head of state had announced that he would send the person responsible for his policy of mass expulsions of migrants, Tom Homan, to the area. “He will report directly to me,” the president posted on his Truth Social network.
PHOTO EVELYN HOCKSTEIN, REUTERS ARCHIVES
The head of the Trump administration’s deportation policy, Tom Homan
Mr. Homan will direct the operations of the immigration police (ICE) and will liaise with the investigators responsible for a case of public aid fraud affecting the Somali community, said Karoline Leavitt on X.
Faced with criticism, including from his own camp, Donald Trump plays appeasement, without changing course.
On Truth Social, he said he had “a very good conversation” on the phone with state Governor Tim Walz, one of his pet peeves. This former running mate of Kamala Harris spoke to her on X about a “constructive exchange”.
“On the same wavelength”
“We actually seem to be on the same page,” the president wrote. Shortly after, however, Karoline Leavitt reiterated a request that is a red line for Minnesota’s Democratic leaders: cooperate with federal immigration agencies.
Much of the state is in effect a “sanctuary,” limiting local law enforcement’s collaboration with ICE.
PHOTO ROBERTO SCHMIDT, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
A crowd of protesters against immigration enforcement (ICE) march through the streets of downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, January 25, 2026.
In an extremely tense atmosphere since the death of a 37-year-old American woman, Renee Good, shot and killed by a federal agent in Minneapolis on January 7, justice was also sought on two fronts on Monday.
According to American media, a federal judge has promised to issue a quick decision regarding the Minnesota Attorney General’s request to suspend the anti-immigration operation in the state. This could set a precedent in the United States, believes David Schultz, professor of political science and law at Hamline University.
A complaint to prevent American authorities from destroying evidence in the Alex Pretti case was also being examined.
“An investigation is underway (…) and it is obvious that we are not destroying the evidence,” assured the number 2 of the Department of Justice, Todd Blanche, on Fox News in the morning.
Democratic elected officials in Congress, for their part, are threatening to block government funding if the federal agencies responsible for immigration are not reformed.
PHOTO ADAM GRAY, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
Federal agents gather during a protest in response to federal immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis, January 25, 2026.
“I don’t like shooting”
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal On Sunday, the American president had implied that federal police officers would leave Minnesota “at some point”, without giving a date.
Regarding the death of Alex Pretti, he assured: “I don’t like shootings”. “But I also don’t like it when someone goes to a demonstration with a gun.”
As with Renee Good, his administration placed the blame on the victim, accusing him of carrying a pistol – something for which the man had a permit, according to local authorities.
PHOTO @DANGJESSIE, PROVIDED BY AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Alex Pretti was shot and killed Saturday during a protest against immigration enforcement (ICE) operations in Minneapolis.
Read “Protester shot dead in Minneapolis: the video dissected”
An analysis of videos by AFP seems to contradict the official version.
The footage shows the nurse on the street, filming armed men wearing “Police” vests.
He intervenes when an agent pushes a demonstrator and receives tear gas in the face. An agent tackles him to the ground and several of his colleagues intervene to handcuff him.
A few seconds later, as a police officer dressed in gray appears to remove a gun from the waist of Alex Pretti, who is kneeling with several police officers above him, a shot is fired. The agents suddenly move aside and shoot several times from a distance. At least ten gunshots are heard.
In a statement, the nurse’s parents accused the administration of spreading “sickening lies” about their son, “a being with a big heart”
