US President Donald Trump has said his administration will “de-escalate a little bit” in Minnesota following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by federal immigration officers, the second such incident in the state this month.
“Bottom line, it was terrible. Both of them were terrible,” Trump said in a Fox News interview on Tuesday, referring to the deaths of Pretti and Renee Good.
In early January, Renee Good was fatally shot by an immigration officer. Two weeks later, Alex Pretti was killed after being stopped by border agents over the weekend. Pretti’s death reignited protests in Minnesota, triggered nationwide public outcry, and drew criticism from lawmakers across party lines.
Trump’s comments marked the clearest indication yet that his administration is reconsidering its operational posture in the state amid growing pressure.
Speaking to reporters ahead of a rally in Iowa on Tuesday night, Trump described Pretti’s killing as “a very unfortunate incident”.
When asked whether he agreed with characterisations of Pretti as a “domestic terrorist,” Trump responded: “I haven’t heard that.” He then added: “He shouldn’t have been carrying a gun.”
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said shortly after the shooting that Pretti “wasn’t there to peacefully protest, he was there to perpetuate violence,” accusing him of “domestic terrorism”.
The Department of Homeland Security said its agents fired in self-defence after Pretti resisted attempts to disarm him. Noem said Pretti was shot because he was “brandishing” a gun during the confrontation.
Eyewitnesses and local officials have disputed that account, saying Pretti had a phone in his hand, not a weapon. Local authorities also said the gun was legally registered and that Pretti was shot after the firearm was removed.
A preliminary report drafted by Customs and Border Protection appears to contradict the initial DHS version of events. The report says two agents fired their weapons at Pretti and does not mention that he was reaching for his firearm, according to a copy seen by the BBC’s US partner CBS News.
On Monday, DHS withdrew the Minnesota mission’s leader, Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino, from the state. The department said the White House’s border tsar, Tom Homan, had been deployed to take over operations.
Homan said on social media on Tuesday that he had met with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and local law enforcement officials.
Pretti’s death, coming just two weeks after the killing of 37 year old Renee Good, angered residents and prompted renewed calls from state and city officials for the Trump administration to withdraw its 3,000 immigration agents and officers from the region.
Despite the backlash, Trump defended the Minnesota operation in his Fox News interview, saying “we took thousands of hardened criminals” out of the state, “so they have good crime numbers”.
“That’s all working out, we have Tom Homan there now,” Trump said, before adding the administration would “de-escalate”.
Stephen Miller, a senior White House aide overseeing the deportation initiative, told CNN that the administration had “provided clear guidance to DHS 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 [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 that his “support for funding ICE remains the same,” he said he expected “a prioritized, transparent investigation into this incident”.
A federal judge has since blocked DHS from destroying or altering evidence related to the shooting.
At his Iowa rally on Tuesday night, Trump did not address the Minnesota situation in detail but defended his broader immigration crackdown, citing a December Harvard Harris poll which he said showed strong public support for deporting illegal immigrants who have committed crimes.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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