Questions are mounting about how the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti by a federal immigration agent could alter immigration enforcement in Minnesota.
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President Donald Trump said he was sending his border czar, Tom Homan, to the state.
"Tom is tough but fair, and will report directly to me," he said.
Trump also asked Minnesota officials to turn over to federal authorities any incarcerated person in the state who is in the country illegally. He called for greater cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration agents.
In a Sunday interview with "The Wall Street Journal," Trump said his administration was “reviewing everything” related to the shooting — which was recorded by multiple bystanders and appears to contradict initial federal accounts. He also suggested the possibility of pulling federal agents out of Minnesota.
"At some point we will leave," he said. "We've done, they've done a phenomenal job."
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On Monday, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is expected to appear in court to push for an end to the current federal immigration operation in the state. Democratic Gov. Tim Walz has also called for the immediate halt of the crackdown.
"So my question is what's the plan Donald Trump?" Walz said Sunday, a day after the shooting. "What is the plan? What do we need to do to get these federal agents out of our state?"
The political fallout from Pretti’s death is expected to ripple through Washington this week. Democrats are threatening to withdraw support for a previously negotiated deal funding the Department of Homeland Security and roughly 75% of the federal government. Current government funding runs out later this week, raising the prospect of a partial shutdown.
