President Donald Trump has said his administration is “going to de-escalate a little bit” in Minnesota following the second fatal shooting of a US citizen by federal immigration officers in the state.
“Bottom line, it was terrible. Both of them were terrible,” Trump said during a Fox News interview on Tuesday.
The latest incident involved Alex Pretti, who was killed after being stopped by border agents over the weekend. His death followed the fatal shooting of Renee Good in early January, also involving an immigration officer.
Pretti’s killing has reignited protests in Minnesota and drawn widespread criticism from lawmakers across party lines. Trump’s comments mark the clearest indication yet that his administration may be scaling back its operations in the state.
Speaking to reporters ahead of a rally in Iowa on Tuesday night, Trump described Pretti’s death, Pretti was an intensive care nurse at a veterans’ hospital as “a very unfortunate incident.”
When asked whether he agreed with claims that Pretti was a “domestic terrorist,” Trump responded: “I haven’t heard that.” He then added: “He shouldn’t have been carrying a gun.”
Shortly after the shooting, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Pretti “wasn’t there to peacefully protest, he was there to perpetuate violence,” accusing him of “domestic terrorism.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has maintained that agents fired in self-defence after Pretti resisted attempts to disarm him. Noem said he was shot because he was “brandishing” a gun during the confrontation.
However, eyewitnesses and local officials have disputed that account, saying Pretti was holding a phone, not a weapon. Authorities also confirmed that the firearm was legally registered and that Pretti was shot after the gun had already been removed.
A preliminary report prepared by US Customs and Border Protection appears to contradict the initial DHS narrative. According to a copy seen by the BBC’s US partner CBS News, the report states that two agents fired their weapons but does not indicate that Pretti was reaching for his firearm.
On Monday, DHS withdrew the leader of the Minnesota mission, Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino, from the state. The department said White House border adviser Tom Homan would take over operations.
Homan said on social media Tuesday that he had met with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and local law enforcement officials.
The deaths of Pretti and Good who was 37 have angered residents and intensified demands from state and city leaders for the withdrawal of roughly 3,000 immigration agents and officers deployed to the region.
Despite signalling de-escalation, Trump defended the Minnesota operation during his Fox News interview, saying authorities had removed “thousands of hardened criminals” from the state, adding, “so they have good crime numbers.”
“That’s all working out, we have Tom Homan there now,” he said, before reiterating that the administration would “de-escalate.”
Stephen Miller, a senior White House aide involved in deportation policy, told CNN that the administration had given DHS “clear guidance” that additional personnel sent to Minnesota for force protection should be used to support fugitive operations and “create a physical barrier between the arrest teams and the disruptors.”
“We are evaluating why the [US Customs and Border Patrol] team may not have been following that protocol,”Miller said.
Several Republican leaders have also called for an investigation into Pretti’s death, including Vermont Governor Phil Scott and US Senator Pete Ricketts of Nebraska.
“The nation witnessed a horrifying situation this weekend,” Ricketts wrote on X. While reaffirming his support for immigration enforcement funding, he said he expected “a prioritized, transparent investigation into this incident.”
A federal judge has since ordered DHS not to destroy or alter any evidence related to the case.
At his Iowa rally on Tuesday night, Trump did not directly address the Minnesota shootings but spoke broadly about his immigration crackdown. He cited a December Harvard Harris poll suggesting that 80% of Americans support efforts to deport undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes.
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