Stephen Miller says federal agents in Alex Pretti shooting ‘may not have been following protocol’
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has questioned wheather the the federal agents involved in the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis over the weekend were following protocol.
The immigration hardliner told CNN that the White House “provided clear guidance to DHS [Department of Homeland Security] that the extra personnel that had been sent to Minnesota for force protection should be used for conducting fugitive operations to create a physical barrier between the arrest teams and the disruptors.”
“We are evaluating why the CBP [Customs and Border Protection] team may not have been following that protocol,” he said.
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White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, on January 3 (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Rachel Dobkin28 January 2026 01:16
Federal immigration agents were stopped from entering Ecuadorian consulate in Minneapolis: report
Federal immigration agents were stopped from entering the Ecuadorian consulate in Minneapolis, the Associated Press reported, citing the country’s foreign minister.
Rachel Dobkin28 January 2026 00:45
DHS makes clear ICE isn’t going anywhere as Minneapolis mayor continues calls for agents to leave city
The Department of Homeland Security has made clear that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers aren’t going anywhere as Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey continues his calls for federal agents to leave the city.
“Operation Metro Surge continues to remove criminal illegal aliens from the neighborhoods of Minnesota. We are putting Minnesotans FIRST and getting violent criminals out of our communities,” DHS wrote on X Tuesday night. “The brave agents of @ICEgov risk their lives every day to arrest and deport the WORST of the WORST.”
Earlier Tuesday, Frey said that he met with President Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, where he “reiterated that my main ask is for Operation Metro Surge to end as quickly as possible.”
As Trump sent Homan to Minnesota, Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino was reportedly leaving Minneapolis in the wake of the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti.
Rachel Dobkin28 January 2026 00:40
Republican Senator says Kristi Noem should be out of a job
Sen. Thom Tillis, a retiring Republican from North Carolina, blasted Kristi Noem and said she needed to give up her job as Secretary of Homeland Security.
“I think that what she’s done in Minnesota should be disqualifying. She should be out of a job. And I mean, really, it’s just, it’s just amateurish.”
Tillis told The Independent that she had squandered Trump’s goodwill on immigration and securing the border.
“I mean, there’s no question that we won the election there, and now these people like Noem are squandering the opportunity to be able to codify that good policy and maybe even get to a reasonable discussion about immigration reform,” he said.
He also blasted border patrol official Greg Bovino.
“Bovino, whatever his name is, he needs to go back to California, get us retirement papers and go. These people are amateurs. They got to de-escalate there and treat these communities with some respect.”
Eric Garcia28 January 2026 00:20
Trump makes no mention of Alex Pretti in Iowa speech
President Donald Trump made no mention of Alex Pretti, the 37-year-old U.S. citizen who was fatally shot by Border Patrol over the weekend, in his speech in Iowa Tuesday.
The speech focused on the economy, but Trump also touched on immigration, criticizing former President Joe Biden’s “open border” policies.
Earlier Tuesday, Trump did express sympathy for Pretti, but also insinuated blame on him for carrying a gun.
“You can’t walk in with guns,” Trump told reporters. “You can’t do that.” He called the shooting a “very unfortunate incident.”
President Donald Trump made no mention of Alex Pretti during his Iowa speech (Octavio Jones/AFP via Getty Images)
Rachel Dobkin27 January 2026 23:58
Trump rages against Minnesota’s Ilhan Omar again
President Donald Trump has raged against Representative Ilhan Omar, a Somali-American and Minnesota Democrat, again during his speech in Iowa Tuesday.
“Nobody is able to come into our country, except for those that come in legally,” Trump said. “We need people to come in legally, but they have to show that they can love our country, not hate our country.”
Federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota has grown intensely as Trump singles out the Somali immigrant population in the state.
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar at the U.S. Capitol on January 13. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
Minnesota saw a massive federal fraud scandal in which hundreds of millions of dollars were allegedly stolen from welfare programs. Somali Americans made up most of the defendants charged so far in the schemes.
Trump said immigrants “have to be proud, not like Ilhan Omar” to enter the country.
The president has previously called Omar “garbage,” and said that “her friends are garbage.”
Rachel Dobkin27 January 2026 23:29
Two federal agents fired during Alex Pretti shooting: report
Two federal agents had fired shots during a confrontation that ended with the killing of 37-year-old U.S. citizen Alex Pretti in Minneapolis over the weekend, according to the Associated Press.
The information was shared by a Customs and Border Protection official to Congress in a notice obtained by the AP on Tuesday.
Pretti resisted as agents tried to take him into custody, according to the notice. One Border Patrol officer said, “He’s got a gun!” multiple times during the confrontation, the notice said.
According to footage of the shooting shared by media outlets, Pretti’s gun appeared to be in his waistband during the confrontation.
Rachel Dobkin27 January 2026 23:14
Trump rails against ‘group of morons’ in Biden administration for immigration policies
President Donald Trump has railed against the “group of morons” in the Biden administration for its “open border” immigration policies.
“It’s a lot of work taking criminals,” Trump said of his massive deportation efforts. “We got to get them out…We can never forget what that group of morons did to this country…That’s why we’ve got to win the midterms. “
Rachel Dobkin27 January 2026 22:55
Trump claims ousted federal employees ‘love’ him after getting paid more in private sector
President Donald Trump has claimed that the federal employees whose jobs his administration cut early on in his second term “love” him after getting paid more in the private sector.
“I’ve cut hundreds of thousands of federal jobs,” Trump said. “They hated me. They hated me. Now they love me. You know why? They all got jobs in the private sector, making twice as much money as they made from the federal government.”
President Donald Trump in Des Moines, Iowa, Tuesday (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)
Rachel Dobkin27 January 2026 22:43
Trump says economic growth is ‘exploding’
President Donald Trump has said that economic growth in America is “exploding.”
Inflation held steady in December at 2.7 percent, but grocery prices have remained high.
Read more about the latest inflation data:
Rachel Dobkin27 January 2026 22:34