President Trump Monday ordered border czar Tom Homan to travel to Minneapolis as the unpopular immigration crackdown continues to escalate and just days after the killing of protester Alex Pretti.
Trump noted that Homan has not been involved in the Minneapolis operation so far, which could be an effort to distance the White House from the killing of the second American citizen this month by Immigration Customs Enforcement agents in the flashpoint city.
“He has not been involved in that area, but knows and likes many of the people there. Tom is tough but fair, and will report directly to me,” Trump wrote on his social media site.
Trump did not specifically say whether Homan would take over oversight of the Twin Cities crackdown from Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino.
Homan, like Noem and Bovino, is an unapologetic supporter of Trump’s mass deportation campaign .
Scott Olson/Getty Images
Federal agents break up a protest outside a hotel on Sunday night in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
But the White House could be hoping to use the change in personalities to lay the groundwork for a retreat from the ultra-aggressive tactics that have marked the Minneapolis crackdown.
Trump and his administration officials have claimed they sent thousands of ICE and Border Patrol agents to Minnesota to track down and arrest undocumented immigrants who are dangerous criminals.
The army of masked agents have repeatedly engaged in heavy-handed tactics against protesters and other critics, both immigrants and U.S. citizens, who have sought to monitor and document their actions with cell phone cameras.
ICE agents shot and killed unarmed motorist Renee Nicole Good under very disputed circumstances on Jan. 7.
They killed Alex Pretti, an intensive care unit nurse, on Saturday morning as he sought to assist another woman who was shoved to the ground by agents. Pretti had a holstered firearm but had a legal permit to do so and did not appear to brandish it at agents. He was holding a cell phone.
Both killings were captured on video by multiple fellow protesters.
Dept. of Veterans Affairs
Alex Pretti, 37, was an ICU nurse at a VA hospital. (Dept. of Veterans Affairs)
Despite the evidence of potential misconduct, Noem quickly defended the agents who killed Good and Pretti. She branded both victims as “domestic terrorists” within hours, even before investigations were completed.
The killing of Pretti in particular has outraged Americans, and sparked new questions about the unpopular crackdown from some Republicans as well as Democrats.
Several GOP lawmakers have called for an independent investigation into the Pretti killing. Federal officials have so far refused to cooperate with Minneapolis police in the case.
