Even then, he said you\u2019d have to be a \u201cstupid person\u201d not to think what happened to Pretti was \u201cvery unfortunate\u201d.<\/p>\n
Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff and the architect of Trump\u2019s immigration agenda, described Pretti as a \u201cwould-be assassin\u201d and a \u201cdomestic terrorist\u201d who \u201ctried to murder federal law enforcement\u201d.<\/p>\n
Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem claimed Pretti was \u201cbrandishing\u201d a weapon, acting \u201cviolently\u201d toward officers, which is plainly contradicted by video footage showing that he was holding a phone, not a gun, and was disarmed before he was killed.<\/p>\n
Gregory Bovino, who has since left his post as Border Patrol commander, claimed without any evidence that Pretti wanted to \u201cmassacre law enforcement\u201d and that the agents were \u201cthe victims\u201d.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.55 EST<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n More than 75% of House Democrats support the impeachment of homeland security secretary Kristi Noem.<\/p>\n The office of Robin Kelly, an Illinois congresswoman who introduced the articles of impeachment, reported that 162 of the 213 House Democrats<\/a> had signed on as co-sponsors by Tuesday.<\/p>\n Noem has faced growing criticism in recent days following the killing of Alex Pretti, a US citizen killed in the street by federal immigration agents. The secretary has claimed Pretti was \u201cbrandishing\u201d a weapon, and acting \u201cviolently\u201d toward officers, a characterization contradicted by video footage of the incident.<\/p>\n Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, and other top Democrats have urged Donald Trump<\/a> to fire Noem otherwise they will seek her impeachment.<\/p>\n \u201cThe violence unleashed on the American people by the Department of Homeland Security must end forthwith. Kristi Noem should be fired immediately, or we will commence impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives,\u201d Jeffries said in a joint statement, along with his two deputies, Katherine Clark and Pete Aguilar.<\/p>\n Trump said today that Noem has \u201cdone a very good job\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Federal judge blocks deportation of five-year-old Minnesota boy and his father A federal judge ruled on Tuesday that a five-year-old Minnesota<\/a> boy and his father cannot be immediately deported, one week after their arrest sparked international outrage.<\/p>\n A Texas-based judge issued an order saying Liam Ramos, the preschooler, and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, cannot be removed or transferred out of the judicial district where they are being held while the litigation challenging their detention proceeds.<\/p>\n Liam\u2019s arrest<\/a> seven days prior went viral and became a symbol of the Trump administration\u2019s relentless crackdown<\/a> on immigrant communities in the Minneapolis region. Attorneys for the family have said the father and son have an active asylum case and had entered the US at an authorized port of entry.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Donald Trump said his administration plans to \u201cde-escalate\u201d in Minnesota after weeks of a massive, and deadly, immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis-St Paul.<\/p>\n In an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, the US president defended his administration\u2019s campaign in the state, stating that ICE had taken \u201cthousands of criminals out of Minnesota\u201d. The operation and the killings of two US citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, by federal agents has drawn fierce condemnation and major protests.<\/p>\n Trump said border czar Tom Homan met with Minnesota governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis<\/a> mayor Jacob Frey on Tuesday, and that \u201cwe\u2019re gonna de-escalate a little bit\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Congressman Joaquin Castro is set to meet with Liam Ramos<\/a>, the preschooler who was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Minnesota, and his father at a Texas detention center.<\/p>\n The Texas lawmaker said that he planned to visit Dilley Detention Center alongside Representative Jasmine Crockett on Wednesday.<\/p>\n Federal agents took the father and son, who have an active asylum case, into custody last week as the five-year-old returned home from school. Images of the child in a blue hat and an agent gripping the Spiderman backpack he carried sparked widespread outrage.<\/p>\n \u201cHe has become emblematic of the monstrosity of the ICE system and the detention system,\u201d Castro said in a video shared on social media. \u201cBut the truth is Liam will be one of many kids \u2026 who are there in Dilley at that detention center.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n While speaking to diners in Iowa, Trump was asked if the US is now a defacto member of OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) vis a vis Trump \u201crunning\u201d Venezuela.<\/p>\n Trump didn\u2019t answer directly: \u201cWe are a very strong presence in Venezuela. We\u2019re going to get a lot of money for Venezuela. Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world \u2026 And we are working beautifully with Venezuela.\u201d<\/p>\n After the US capture of Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, Trump said Venezuela \u201cgoing to do better now than they ever did that they\u2019ve done ever had any point, and we\u2019re going to be making a lot of money for them and a lot of money for our country.\u201d<\/p>\n He was then asked what this means for Cuba. Looking around at the diners in Iowa, Trump asked: \u201cAnybody interested in Cuba? Not too many.\u201d He then quipped that there were many people who cared about the island\u2019s fate in Miami.<\/p>\n \u201cCuba will be failing pretty soon,\u201d he continued. \u201cCuba is really a nation that is very close to failing.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.21 EST<\/p>\n Trump says Alex Pretti ‘shouldn\u2019t have been carrying a gun’ and claims ignorance of his team’s false claims about slain VA nurse<\/p>\n Answering reporter questions in the restaurant, Trump once again declined to agree with characterizations by his own team of Pretti as a domestic terrorist, claiming not to have heard those comments.<\/p>\n \u201cHe shouldn\u2019t have been carrying a gun,\u201d Trump said, adding \u201cI don\u2019t like that he had a gun.\u201d Minneapolis<\/a> Police has said Pretti was a lawful gun owner with a valid permit to carry a firearm. The assertion that he should not have carried a gun has drawn significant pushback from pro-second amendment groups, including the NRA, which are usually in lockstep with Republicans on matters of gun rights.<\/p>\n Even then, he said you\u2019d have to be a \u201cstupid person\u201d not to think what happened to Pretti was \u201cvery unfortunate\u201d.<\/p>\n Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff and the architect of Trump\u2019s immigration agenda, described Pretti as a \u201cwould-be assassin\u201d and a \u201cdomestic terrorist\u201d who \u201ctried to murder federal law enforcement\u201d.<\/p>\n Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem claimed Pretti was \u201cbrandishing\u201d a weapon, acting \u201cviolently\u201d toward officers, which is plainly contradicted by video footage showing that he was holding a phone, not a gun, and was disarmed before he was killed.<\/p>\n Gregory Bovino, who has since left his post as Border Patrol commander, claimed without any evidence that Pretti wanted to \u201cmassacre law enforcement\u201d and that the agents were \u201cthe victims\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a016.55 EST<\/p>\n Trump stopped at the Machine Shed restaurant in Urbandale, Iowa, wearing a dark winter coat and one glove. Diners greeted the president with applause.<\/p>\n \u201cIowa loves you,\u201d one diner shouted. Trump walked around the room, going table to table to shake hands and pose for photos.<\/p>\n Speaking to the room, he bragged about the state of the economy and the record-low numbers of crossings at the border. \u201cThere\u2019s never been a year like this in the history of the country,\u201d he declared.<\/p>\n Trump said he would continued to travel across the country ahead of the fall elections, while lamenting the historical trend of a president\u2019s party losing ground in the midterms.<\/p>\n \u201cHopefully we win the midterms,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s very scary.\u201d <\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Trump has landed in Iowa, where he is due to give a speech focused on the economy and \u201caffordability.\u201d<\/p>\n As he arrived, the president blasted of a Truth social post, weighing in on the nomination of Iraq\u2019s former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki to serve again in the role.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m hearing that the Great Country of Iraq might make a very bad choice by reinstalling Nouri al-Maliki as Prime Minister,\u201d Trump wrote, threatening to withdraw US support if he is re-instated.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause of his insane policies and ideologies, if elected, the United States of America will no longer help Iraq and, if we are not there to help, Iraq has ZERO chance of Success, Prosperity, or Freedom,\u201d the US president continued. \u201cMAKE IRAQ GREAT AGAIN!\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey said he told Trump\u2019s border czar, that the city \u201cdoes not and will not\u201d enforce federal immigration law and urged an end to Operation Metro Surge \u201cas quickly as possible\u201d.<\/p>\n In a statement, Frey said he was joined by police chief Brian O\u2019Hara for a \u201cproductive\u201d meeting with Homan.<\/p>\n \u201cI reiterated that my main ask is for Operation Metro Surge to come to an end as quickly as possible,\u201d Frey said.<\/p>\n He continued: \u201cI shared with Mr. Homan the serious negative impacts this operation has had on Minneapolis and surrounding communities, as well as the strain it has placed on our local police officers.<\/p>\n \u201cI also made it clear that Minneapolis does not and will not enforce federal immigration laws, and that we will remain focused on keeping our neighbors and streets safe.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump administration officials have repeatedly blamed so-called \u201csanctuary\u201d laws for exacerbating tensions on the ground. Minneapolis, along with Hennepin County, restricts coordination between local law enforcement and federal immigration agents.<\/p>\n In a Wall Street Journal op-ed<\/a> on Monday, the state\u2019s governor, Tim Walz forcefully rebutted the administration\u2019s claim that state prisons simply release the \u201cworst of the worst\u201d onto the streets.<\/p>\n \u201cIn reality, the Minnesota<\/a> Department of Corrections honors all federal and local detainers by notifying Immigration and Customs Enforcement when a person committed to its custody isn\u2019t a US citizen,\u201d Walz wrote. \u201cThere is not a single documented case of the department\u2019s releasing someone from state prison without offering to ensure a smooth transfer of custody.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.11 EST<\/p>\n A person was in critical condition on Tuesday following a shooting involving the Border Patrol near the US- Mexico border, the Associated Press reported, according to local officials.<\/p>\n In a short statement, the Pima County Sheriff\u2019s Department said it was \u201cworking in coordination with\u201d the FBI and US Customs and Border Protection in response to the shooting in Arivaca, Arizona, a community just over 10 miles from the border.<\/p>\n The Santa Rita Fire District told the AP it had responded to the shooting and the person who was wounded was in custody.<\/p>\n \u201cPatient care was transferred to a local medical helicopter for rapid transport to a regional trauma center,\u201d the fire district said.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.52 EST<\/p>\n Republican congressman Andrew Garbarino, chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, announced that Todd Lyons, head of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will testify at a public oversight hearing next month.<\/p>\n In a statement, Garbarino announced that Lyons, ICE\u2019s acting director, will appear before the panel on 10 February alongside US Customs and Border Protection commissioner Rodney Scott and US Citizenship and Immigration Services director Joseph Edlow.<\/p>\n \u201cThe hearing will provide an opportunity to conduct oversight of each agency and ensure they are fulfilling their duty to protect the homeland as part of the Department of Homeland Security\u2019s (DHS) core mission,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The committee had invited Lyons, Scott and Edlow to testify before Pretti was shot and killed, but followed up with a formal request on Saturday.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Noem must be fired \u2014 or face impeachment proceedings, House Democratic leaders say<\/p>\n In a joint statement, House Democratic leaders are threatening to launch impeachment proceedings if Noem isn\u2019t fired \u201cimmediately\u201d.<\/p>\n The statement, co-signed by Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, Katherine Clark, the Democratic Whip and Pete Aguilar, the Democratic Caucus Chair, accused the Trump administration<\/a> of using taxpayer dollars to \u201ckill American citizens, brutalize communities and violently target law-abiding immigrant families\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cKristi Noem should be fired immediately, or we will commence impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives,\u201d they said. \u201cWe can do this the easy way or the hard way.\u201d<\/p>\n The leaders\u2019 impeachment threat represents something of a tactical shift for Democrats, who are endorsing more aggressive actions following Pretti\u2019s killing. In the Senate, Democrats said they are prepared to vote down a federal spending bill that includes more than $60bn in funding for DHS, risking a partial government shutdown.<\/p>\n \u201cTaxpayer dollars should be used to make life more affordable for everyday Americans, not kill them in cold blood,\u201d the House leaders wrote in a scating statement.<\/p>\n In the House, support for impeaching Noem has exploded since Pretti\u2019s death. New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was among the most recent signatories to congresswoman Robin Kelly\u2019s articles of impeachment, which the Illinois Democrat filed after the fatal killing of Renee Good earlier this month.<\/p>\n What started as an effort mostly backed by progressive Democrats to the dismay of more centrists, has quickly gained traction in every corner of the party.<\/p>\n Kelly could force a vote on her articles of impeachment, according to House rules, though they are unlikely to win enough support in the Republican-controlled chamber.<\/p>\n So far no Republicans have signed onto the impeachment resolution, which accuses Noem of obstructing Congress, violating the public trust and self-dealing. DHS has called the effort \u201csilly\u201d and a distraction, arguing that Democrats should be more focused on fighting crime in their districts.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.02 EST<\/p>\n Meanwhile, in Minneapolis<\/a>, Walz met with Homan in the city as the administration attempted to reset and work with officials there to de-escalate the conflict between residents of Twin Cities and federal agents.<\/p>\n \u201cGovernor Walz met with Tom Homan this morning and reiterated Minnesota\u2019s priorities: impartial investigations into the Minneapolis shootings involving federal agents, a swift, significant reduction in the number of federal forces in Minnesota<\/a>, and an end to the campaign of retribution against Minnesota,\u201d the governor\u2019s office said in a statement following the meeting on Tuesday.<\/p>\n It continued: \u201cThe Governor and Homan agreed on the need for an ongoing dialogue and will continue working toward those goals, which the President also agreed to yesterday. The Governor tasked the Minnesota Department of Public Safety as the primary liaison to Homan to ensure these goals are met.\u201d<\/p>\n Homan was expected to meet with Minneapolis mayor, Jacob Frey, later today.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Trump says Noem doing a ‘very good job’ and won’t step down<\/p>\n Asked whether Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem would step down, Trump replied that she would not.<\/p>\n \u201cI think she\u2019s done a very good job”,\u201d he said of Noem, as calls mount for her resignation. \u201cI think she\u2019s doing a very good job. The border is totally secure.\u201d Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a013.15 EST<\/p>\n Speaking briefly to reporters as he departed the White House for Iowa, Trump said he would be \u201cwatching over\u201d the investigation into Pretti\u2019s killing by federal agents.<\/p>\n \u201cWell you know we\u2019re doing a big investigation,\u201d Trump said, as the blades of Marine One spin loudly behind him on the White House lawn. \u201cI want to see the investigation. I\u2019m going to be watching over it. I want a very honorable and honest investigation. I have to see it myself.\u201d<\/p>\n In response to another question about the fatal encounter, which was difficult to hear, Trump said: \u201cI\u2019m looking at that whole situation. I love everybody. I love all of our people. I love [Pretti\u2019s] family. And it\u2019s a very sad situation.\u201d<\/p>\n He said his border czar Tom Homan had just met with Walz in Minneapolis<\/a> and would meet with the city\u2019s mayor, Jacob Frey, later today. \u201cAll going very well,\u201d Trump said. (He offered a similar assessment of the US economy, Russia and Syria.)<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n My colleague, Joseph Gedeon, is reporting that Minnesota\u2019s top federal judge has summoned Todd Lyons, the acting head of ICE, to appear before him on Friday, warning he may be held in contempt for allegedly defying court orders.<\/p>\n Chief US district judge Patrick Schiltz demanded Lyons explain himself personally in a three-page order issued Monday evening, declaring that \u201cthe court\u2019s patience is at an end\u201d.<\/p>\n Schiltz, appointed by George W Bush, accused the Trump administration<\/a> of deliberately delaying or ignoring judicial directives across Minnesota\u2019s federal courts. His order stemmed from a case involving a man he had ordered released on 15 January who remained in custody as of Monday night.<\/p>\n Read the full story here<\/p>\n![\"Sam](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Sam_Levin.png\")
Sam Levin<\/p>\n
He continued: \u201cYou know, you forget we had a border that I inherited where millions of people were coming through. Now we have a border where no one is coming through. They come into our country only legally. So you have to remember those things. You know people forget. As soon as you accomplish something, it goes into history, and nobody ever wants to talk about it.\u201d<\/p>\n