Flowers and people’s messages are seen at the makeshift memorial in the area where Alex Pretti was shot and killed by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 26. President Donald Trump’s border chief vowed Thursday to press on with the federal immigration crackdown in Minneapolis while acknowledging the mission needed to improve and promising to hold agents to account. “We’re going to make sure we do targeted enforcement operations,” Tom Homan told reporters in the Minnesota city.
“We are not surrendering our mission at all. We’re just doing it smarter.” “President Trump wants this fixed. And I’m going to fix it.” The border czar called on Minnesota’s residents to turn down the temperature and stop what he called “hateful rhetoric” against federal agents carrying out immigration raids.
Minneapolis has been gripped by weeks of protests against the roundup of undocumented migrants. Two Americans demonstrating against the sweeps have been shot dead by federal agents. Homan struck a conciliatory tone at his first press conference, a marked difference from the Border Patrol commander who was previously heading the mission on the ground and has since been removed.
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“One thing everybody I talked to agreed on was that community safety is paramount,” Homan said. Homan said any federal agents who breach codes of conduct “will be dealt with.” The two agents involved in the latest shooting — that of 37-year-old Veterans Hospital nurse Alex Pretti — have been placed on leave pending an investigation.
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