As US president Donald Trump sent his “border tsar” Tom Homan to Minneapolis in an attempt to defuse the shock and outrage in the city after the killing of nurse Alex Pretti by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents, Minnesota legal representatives are seeking a court ruling that the surge of immigration enforcement officers is an infringement on state sovereignty.
Minnesota governor Tim Walz spoke to Mr Trump by telephone on Monday, who described the conversation as a “very good call” and said “we actually seemed to be on the same wavelength”.
On Sunday, Mr Trump conceded in remarks to the Wall Street Journal that the administration is “reviewing everything and will make a determination” amid pushback from some Republican politicians.
The conciliatory tone stands in vivid contrast to his persistent attacks on Mr Walz and to the remarks by leading Trump immigration officials Kristi Noem, the secretary of homeland security, and Greg Bovino, the commanding-officer-at-large, both of whom sought to blame Mr Pretti for assaulting Ice agents despite video evidence to the contrary.
Mr Pretti died after being shot multiple times by Ice agents on Saturday morning. The incident was described by Mr Walz as an “inflection point” in the stand-off between the White House and the city’s leading officials, along with many citizen protesters.
Federal judge Kate Menendez heard arguments from the city’s officials that the sudden deployment of more than 2,000 agents to Twin Cities was an infringement on state sovereignty. She has yet to make a ruling.
“I got the sense that she understood the issues very well and I’ll just say on my own behalf that the Pam Bondi letter reveals what this is all about,” said Minnesota attorney general Keith Ellison. He was referring to a letter sent by Ms Bondi, the US attorney general, to Mr Walz this weekend outlining steps to “bring back law and order”. The letter made a request for Minnesota voter and welfare information.
“This is not about fraud and it’s not even about immigration, and it’s certainly not about law enforcement. It’s about handing over documents of the state of Minnesota, private information including voting information, to the federal government. And that is why we’re fighting it.”
[ Minneapolis shooting: How the Trump administration rushed to judgmentOpens in new window ]
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that Mr Homan will lead the Ice operation in Minneapolis but maintained that Ms Noem retains “the utmost confidence and trust of the president”.
Recent polling suggests that Ms Noem’s personal approval rating, and general approval rating of Ice, has turned deeply negative after the shocking deaths of Mr Pretti and Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother who was shot and killed by a federal Ice agent on January 7th.
“But let’s be clear about the circumstances that led to this moment on Saturday,” Ms Leavitt said on Monday. “This tragedy occurred as a result of a deliberate and hostile resistance by Democrat leaders in Minnesota.”