Trump sends top border official to Minneapolis after backlash
2026-01-27 - 02:39
• State, cities of Minneapolis and St Paul ask court to pause operation • Federal judge hears arguments whether the deployment of federal officers violates state’s sovereignty • White House dismisses concerns as Congress Democrats threaten to hold up funding unless ICE reformed MINNEAPOLIS: In a bid to regain control over an escalating crisis sparked by the second killing of a protester against his administration’s militarised immigration raids, US President Donald Trump dispatched his top border official to Minnesota on Monday. Trump said that Tom Homan, his point man for border security, would arrive in the state later and “will report directly to me”. As Minneapolis has become ground zero in the clash between Trump and growing numbers of Americans over his nationwide immigration crackdown, Trump’s deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche, described the city on Fox News as a ‘powder keg’. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), an agency under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has been transformed under Trump into the United States’ most heavily funded law enforcement body. But polls show growing anger over its frequently brutal tactics. A huge rally took place despite bitter cold in Minneapolis on Friday to protest the raids and the point blank shooting by an ICE agent of protester Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three on Jan 7. Then on Saturday, immigration agents gunned down Alex Jeffrey Pretti, also 37, after having already tackled him to the ground. Like Good, the intensive care unit nurse was a US citizen. More rallies erupted after his death in Minneapolis, New York and other major cities across the United States. Minnesota’s sovereignty On Monday, a federal judge in Minneapolis was hearing arguments on whether the deployment of federal officers — often masked, heavily armed and unidentified — violates the state of Minnesota’s sovereignty. The judge would consider a request to temporarily stop Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota, following the fatal shooting of a second US citizen over the weekend that sparked a fierce backlash. The state and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul are asking the court to pause the 3,000-agent operation, calling it a “completely disproportionate” violation of state sovereignty. The Trump administration, in a court filing, called the request an “absurdity” that would make federal law an afterthought. In Congress, Democrats are threatening to hold up funding for the US government unless immigration enforcement agencies are reformed. Trump has so far dismissed concerns. The 79-year-old Republican’s first reaction to Pretti’s killing was to suggest that the nurse had come intending to shoot at the police. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison then accused Trump of pushing a “flat-out insane” narrative. In Monday’s court action, the judge was hearing arguments from state and city lawyers that the federal deployments amount to an occupying force. Also under consideration was a bid to force federal officials to preserve evidence related to Pretti’s killing. The lawsuits highlight the deep rift between local and federal law enforcement over the deployment, dubbed “Operation Metro Surge”. Trump’s immigration raids have focused deliberately on Democratic-run cities, pitting mayors and governors against the president. Local police have repeatedly confronted federal agents and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has even suggested he could call out the state’s National Guard to push back against Trump’s forces. Trump will also be watching signs of growing disenchantment from his Republican Party in Congress. The party is usually in lockstep with Trump but it has only a slender majority. One of the most prominent cautions came from House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer, who signalled on Sunday that federal agents should withdraw from Minneapolis — an intervention that would normally be unheard of from a figure considered one of Trump’s staunchest loyalists. Sixty of the state’s largest businesses, including Target, 3M, UnitedHealth and US Bancorp, have called for an immediate de-escalation of tensions between the state and the Trump administration. Trump claimed that the immigration agents would leave Minneapolis “at some point”. Published in Dawn, January 27th, 2026