As federal immigration tactics face mounting legal and political scrutiny after U.S. agents fatally shot a Minneapolis man over the weekend, President Trump announced Monday that he was dispatching his border advisor Tom Homan to Minnesota.<\/p>\n
Until now, Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino has overseen the federal government\u2019s immigration crackdown in Minnesota. But as the Trump administration\u2019s Department of Homeland Security faces widespread criticism for its<\/a> aggressive tactics since it launched Operation Metro Surge in December, Trump signaled Monday that he could be shifting strategy as he deploys Homan to the region.<\/p>\n \u201cHe has not been involved in that area, but knows and likes many of the people there,\u201d Trump said <\/a>of Homan on Truth Social. \u201cTom is tough but fair, and will report directly to me.\u201d<\/p>\n In a sign that the Trump administration may be questioning its hard-line immigration approach in Minneapolis, Bovino and some federal agents are expected to leave the city as early as Tuesday, a source told the Associated Press.<\/p>\n Muzaffar Chishti \u2014 an attorney and immigration policy expert at the Migration Policy Institute, a Washington-based think tank \u2014 said no one knows what Trump will do next, but Homan\u2019s arrival in Minnesota marks a significant shift in the balance of power in the administration\u2019s immigration enforcement efforts.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was a big rift here between seasoned ICE officers and these new troopers,\u201d Chishti said. \u201cThis may become the moment where things begin to change, if not fully reverse. I would be surprised if we don\u2019t see some change.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump said Monday that he had a \u201cvery good call\u201d with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who called<\/a> on the president this weekend to \u201cpull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe, actually, seemed to be on a similar wavelength,\u201d Trump wrote<\/a> on TruthSocial.<\/p>\n \u201cI told Governor Walz that I would have Tom Homan call him, and that what we are looking for are any and all Criminals that they have in their possession,\u201d Trump added. \u201cThe Governor, very respectfully, understood that… He was happy that Tom Homan was going to Minnesota, and so am I!\u201d<\/p>\n Walz\u2019s office described the call as \u201cproductive,\u201d noting that Trump agreed to talk to Homeland Security officials about enabling the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to conduct an independent investigation into the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti.<\/p>\n \u201cThe President also agreed to look into reducing the number of federal agents in Minnesota and working with the state in a more coordinated fashion on immigration enforcement regarding violent criminals,\u201d Walz\u2019s office said.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s latest statements come as a federal judge heard arguments Monday on whether to temporarily halt his administration\u2019s immigration enforcement in Minnesota. Meanwhile, Democratic senators plan to oppose a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security, raising the possibility of a partial government shutdown. A small but growing number of Republicans \u2014 including former Vice President Mike Pence \u2014 have also joined Democratic calls for a thorough investigation into Pretti\u2019s killing.<\/p>\n The Department of Homeland Security said Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse, approached federal officers on the street Saturday morning with a 9-millimeter semiautomatic handgun and \u201cviolently resisted\u201d when officers tried to disarm him. But cellphone videos recorded by eyewitnesses contradict that account.<\/p>\n According to videos taken on the scene, Pretti was holding a phone, not a handgun, when he stepped in front of a federal agent who had shoved a woman to the ground. The agent shoved and pepper sprayed him and then multiple agents forced him to the ground. In the middle of the scrum, an agent secured a handgun. Less than a second later, the first shot was fired.<\/p>\n Pretti is the second U.S. citizen in Minneapolis to be killed by immigration officers this month. On Jan. 7, Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother, was shot in the head<\/a> by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.<\/p>\n At a briefing in Washington on Monday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Department of Homeland Security and FBI were investigating the shooting and U.S. Customs and Border Protection was also conducting its own internal review.<\/p>\n Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem drew criticism this weekend for asserting, without evidence, that Pretti committed \u201can act of domestic terrorism\u201d and saying that her agency would lead the investigation into his killing.<\/p>\n Asked if Trump agreed with Noem and Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller that Pretti was a domestic terrorist, Leavitt said she had \u201cnot heard the president characterize Mr. Pretti in that way.\u201d <\/p>\n After federal officials denied Minnesota state investigators access to the shooting scene in south Minneapolis, local and state officials accused the Homeland Security agency of mishandling evidence. Late Saturday, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension asked a federal court to block Homeland Security and Justice Department officials from destroying or concealing evidence.<\/p>\n On Monday, Pence, a Republican who served during Trump\u2019s first term, described images of the shooting as \u201cdeeply troubling.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cA full and transparent investigation of this officer involved shooting must take place immediately,\u201d Pence wrote<\/a> on X. \u201cThe focus now should be to bring together law enforcement at every level to address the concerns in the community even while ensuring that dangerous illegal aliens are apprehended and no longer a threat to families in Minneapolis.\u201d<\/p>\n Until now, Bovino has been the public face of immigration enforcement in Minneapolis, but Leavitt said Monday that Homan would now be \u201cthe main point of contact on the ground\u201d and Bovino would \u201cvery much continue to lead\u201d the Border Patrol. <\/p>\n Noem, who has backed Bovino\u2019s aggressive tactics, said Monday it was \u201cgood news\u201d that Homan was going to Minneapolis.<\/p>\n