Minneapolis protesters march against ICE, governor urges Trump to remove agents

Protests continued in Minneapolis and other U.S. cities on Sunday after immigration agents shot and killed 37-year-old critical care nurse Alex Pretty in Minneapolis on Saturday.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said the United States is at an “inflection point” and has repeatedly called on President Donald Trump to pull federal immigration agents out of the city.

Trump, meanwhile, called on governors to “turn over all illegal immigrants held in state prisons” for deportation.

Meanwhile, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara told the BBC that federal agents prevented state officers from entering the shooting scene despite obtaining a search warrant.

He added that Minnesota law enforcement agencies at all levels have been cooperating with federal law enforcement “for years,” and the situation developing in Minnesota is hampering agencies’ ability to continue such investigations.

Trump said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Sunday that he might be willing to eventually withdraw ICE agents from the Minneapolis area, but did not provide a timetable.

“At some point we’re going to leave. We’ve done that and they’ve done a fantastic job,” he told the media.

The president added in the interview that his government was “reviewing everything regarding Preity’s death” and said “a decision will be made.”

Lawmakers remain divided over Pretty’s shooting and his Second Amendment right to bear arms.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Pretty was shot because he was “brandishing” a gun. The gun was legally registered, he did not brandish it and he was shot after the gun was removed, local authorities said.

The Trump administration has described Pretty as a “domestic terrorist.”

Preity’s family released a statement in response to the comments, calling the “government’s sickening lies about our son reprehensible and disgusting.”

his family said He has had no interactions with law enforcement other than a few traffic tickets. Court records show he has no criminal record, the Associated Press reported.

“Please know the truth about our son. He was a good man,” his family said in a statement.

Backlash against the Trump administration’s crackdown is growing, including within the Republican Party.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt told CNN that people were watching fellow Americans being gunned down on television and that “federal strategy and accountability” had become a growing concern among voters.

Asked whether ICE should be removed from Minnesota, Stitt said the president needed to answer that question but that he was “getting terrible advice right now.”

Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy said the Minneapolis shooting was “extremely disturbing” and “the credibility of ICE and the Department of Homeland Security is at stake.”

Democrats responded by threatening to block a key government funding package if it included funding for the Department of Homeland Security, part of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, raising the possibility of another government shutdown.

Few Minnesotans interviewed by BBC express support for ICE’s actionsBut multiple polls show about half of voters nationwide support President Trump’s efforts to deport people living in the U.S. illegally.

Other polls show voters are divided over how Trump will crack down on undocumented immigrants. A Politico poll conducted shortly after Renee Goode’s death this month found that about half of Americans believe the mass deportation movement is too aggressive.

Meanwhile, in a post on Truth Social on Sunday night, Trump demanded that Walz and Frey and “every Democratic governor and mayor in America” ​​must “formally cooperate with the Trump administration to enforce the laws of our country rather than resist and fan the flames of division, chaos, and violence.”

He listed a series of requests that he considered “rooted in common sense,” most notably a petition to the U.S. Congress to end sanctuary cities, which he claimed were the cause of “all these problems.”

The term “sanctuary city” is often used to describe places in the United States that restrict aid to federal immigration authorities.

Trump’s post followed comments from White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt, who accused Walz of wanting chaos and encouraging “left-wing demagogues to stalk and document federal officials in their lawful operations.”

Armed, masked agents used tear gas and stun grenades against hundreds of protesters in Minneapolis who braved freezing weather on Sunday to protest the shooting.

Protests have spread to other cities across the United States, with signs reading “Justice for Alex” and “Abolish ICE” held in New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

The CEOs of more than 60 Minnesota businesses, including 3M, Best Buy, Target and UnitedHealth Group, also signed an open letter calling for an “immediate de-escalation of tensions” and asking local and federal officials to “work together to find real solutions.”

Federal agents shot Pretty on Saturday in Minneapolis, and video emerged later showing a scuffle between Border Patrol agents and Pretty before the shooting.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said agents fired in self-defense after Preeti, who was allegedly armed with a handgun, refused to disarm him.

Witnesses, local officials and the victim’s family disputed that account, noting that he was holding a cellphone, not a weapon.

Minneapolis Police Chief O’Hara told the BBC that Pretty was a legal gun owner and had no criminal record other than traffic violations.

In Minnesota, it is legal to carry a handgun in public with a permit.

The National Rifle Association (NRA)—often allied with Trump— Joined other US gun lobby groups in calling for a “full investigation” into Preeti’s killing.

“Responsible public voices should await a full investigation rather than generalizing and demonizing law-abiding citizens,” it said in a statement.

Bovino said earlier that at the time of the shooting, ICE agents were conducting a “targeted” operation looking for Jose Huerta Chuma, whose criminal record included domestic violence, intentional bodily harm and disorderly conduct.

The Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC) has since disputed those claims and said Huerta was never detained by the Minnesota Department of Corrections and public records only reflect misdemeanor-level traffic violations from more than a decade ago.

The latest shootings follow weeks of tensions between Minnesota authorities, federal agents and protesters who have taken to the streets to observe agents during anti-immigration raids.

Earlier this month, an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Good, a 37-year-old Minneapolis resident who was participating in such an observation.

In a statement to CBS News, BBC America’s media partner Goode Family Law Firm Romanucci & Blandin urged all Americans to “trust their eyes when interpreting the horrific video of the Preti shooting.”

Their statement continued: “It’s time for a hard reset. ICE agents can leave Minneapolis. Minnesota residents cannot. We call for an immediate and complete end to ICE’s incursion into this beautiful American city.”

Trump launched a crackdown in Minneapolis in December after some Somali immigrants were convicted of massive fraud on state welfare programs. The state is home to the largest Somali immigrant community in the United States.

ICE agents have the authority to stop, detain and arrest people they suspect of entering the United States illegally.