Killer agents: on immigration enforcement, Minnesota shootings Politics & News

The fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis marks a dramatic escalation in the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement campaign. On January 24, the 37-year-old nurse was killed during a federal operation — the second by agents in the city in recent weeks. The incident sparked large protests, building on weeks of resistance to what officials describe as the largest immigration enforcement operation in American history. The unrest reflects broader community outrage that intensified after the January 7 killing of Renée Good, a 37-year-old mother, by a federal agent. Federal agencies as well as President Trump swiftly defended the operation, saying that Pretti was carrying a loaded gun. White House adviser Stephen Miller claimed that Pretti was a “domestic terrorist” who “tried to assassinate federal law enforcement”. But the U.S. citizen had no serious criminal history. Legal experts have confirmed that he was a lawful gun owner with a permit. Critically, multiple bystander videos contradict the official narrative: footage showed Pretti holding a phone and his gun appeared to have been taken away by an agent before another shot him.

Federal-State tensions have reached a breaking point in Minnesota, where Governor Tim Walz, a Democrat, has described immigration enforcement as “organized brutality”. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has called on Mr. Trump to “end this operation now”. Police Chief Brian O’Hara reported that Homeland Security officials blocked State investigators from the crime scene, prompting Minnesota officials to file emergency lawsuits demanding evidence preservation. In a controversial move, Attorney General Pam Bondi reportedly offered to withdraw the ICE from Minnesota in exchange for access to the State’s voter database — a move critics viewed as an attempt to politicise the crisis. At the root of this crisis is Mr. Trump’s hardline immigration policy and the massive deployment of federal agents to Minneapolis. Reports indicate that their aggressive behaviour and crowd control tactics are triggering fear and terrorising entire communities. For the Trump administration, immigration enforcement is a war at home rather than civil law enforcement. And killings suggest that this approach is gravely counterproductive. When federal agents operate with impunity, reject local oversight, resist shared investigation and use lethal force, they risk undermining the very rule of law that they claim to uphold, besides straining the federal-State balance. Mr. Trump, who called Iranian protesters “patriots” and offered them help, should show at least some of that concern for the American protesters. He should withdraw federal agents from Minneapolis immediately and ensure accountability for the agents who kill.