Some federal immigration agents will leave Minneapolis this Tuesday (27), announced the city’s mayor, after President Donald Trump softened his position in response to the national outrage caused by the deaths of two protesters against immigration operations.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said on social media that “some federal agents” will leave the city, although he did not specify how many. “I will continue to press for the others involved in this operation to leave the city,” said the mayor, adding that he spoke with Trump on Monday (26): “The president agreed that the current situation cannot continue.”
Trump softened his tone Monday regarding the tense situation in Minnesota, saying he doesn’t want people to “get hurt or killed” during protests against his administration’s operations against undocumented immigrants, although he called for an end to the “resistance and chaos.”
After the deaths of two American citizens on the streets of Minneapolis in less than three weeks, the Republican tycoon announced on his Truth Social network that talked on the phone with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Mayor Frey, and promised dialogue. “It was a very positive call and it really seems like we are on the same page,” he said, referring to the governor.
Trump also announced the sending your tsar of immigration, Tom Homan, to the northern state, tasking him with personally informing him of the situation.
Local media had reported that border police chief Gregory Bovino would leave Minneapolis, but the government denied these reports.
The White House reacted quickly when video of the latest death went viral and sparked street protests, criticism from former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama and, increasingly, from within Trump’s Republican Party.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt expressed her condolences over the death of Alex Pretti, a nurse who was shot and killed at close range by immigration agents on Saturday while protesting in Minneapolis.
Previously, senior Trump administration officials had classified Pretti, 37, as a “domestic terrorist.”
To justice
Pretti’s death follows that of another protester, Renee Good, a 37-year-old American who was also shot in Minneapolis on January 7. Outrage over these events even reached the Republican side.
On Monday, Chris Madel, one of the lawyers who represented the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent involved, announced his withdrawal from the Republican candidacy for governor of Minnesota.
“I cannot support the reprisals launched by Republicans across the country against the citizens of our state, nor can I consider myself a member of a party that would do so”, emphasized the lawyer known for defending the forces of order.
According to the American press, a federal judge promised to take a quick decision about the Minnesota Attorney General’s request to suspend the state’s anti-immigration crackdown.
On the other hand, Democratic members of Congress threaten to block government funding if federal immigration agencies are not reformed.
‘Disgusting lies’
In Minneapolis, residents continue to pay tribute to Pretti at a makeshift memorial.
“It is terrifying and deeply despicable to be able to execute someone in cold blood in the street and then vilify them and lie about what happened,” Stephen McLaughlin, a 68-year-old retiree, told AFP on Monday.
As in the case of Renee Good, the government blamed the nurse, criticizing him for carrying a gun, which, according to local authorities, he had permission to carry.
An analysis of the videos carried out by AFP appears to contradict the official version that portrays him as a threat. The images show the nurse on the street, filming armed men wearing vests with the word “police” on them with his cell phone. He intervenes when a police officer pushes a protester and is hit in the face with tear gas. A police officer immobilizes him and several of his colleagues intervene.
As a police officer in a gray uniform appears to remove a gun from Pretti’s waistband, kneeling among several other officers, a shot is fired. The officers retreat abruptly and fire a few more shots from a distance. At least ten shots are heard.
In a statement, his parents accused the government of spreading “disgusting lies” about their son.
*With information from AFP
