President Donald Trump is dispatching Border Czar Tom Homan to Minnesota to oversee ICE operations following uproar over killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti during Operation Metro Surge.
According to the President, Homan, who is “tough and fair”, will directly report to him.
“I am sending Tom Homan to Minnesota tonight. 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 stated in a post on Truth Social.
Trump’s statement clarified that Homan has not been previously engaged in Minnesota, where numerous federal agents have been dispatched in recent weeks to implement the Trump administration’s assertive deportation policy.
Residents of Minnesota, along with local and state officials, are urging ICE to withdraw from Minnesota. A significant number of federal agents are present in Minnesota as part of Operation Metro Surge.
Karoline Leavitt says Homan to coordinate in Minnesota fraud probe
{{/usCountry}}Karoline Leavitt says Homan to coordinate in Minnesota fraud probe
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated in a social media post that Homan will collaborate with officials overseeing the ongoing investigations into fraud schemes in Minnesota.
“Tom Homan will be managing ICE Operations on the ground in Minnesota to continue arresting the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens. In addition, Tom will coordinate with those leading investigations into the massive, widespread fraud that has resulted in billions of taxpayer dollars being stolen from law-abiding citizens in Minnesota,” she wrote.
Killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti
Two US citizens have lost their lives in Minneapolis within a month due to confrontations with federal agents.
Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was shot and killed by ICE agent Jonathan Ross on January 7 as she attempted to drive her SUV after being instructed to exit the vehicle by another agent.
On Saturday, Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse working in the intensive care unit in Minneapolis, was shot and killed by federal officers.
Both incidents took place during daylight hours in front of witnesses and were recorded from various angles, significantly increasing the scrutiny regarding the tactics and training of immigration agents.
In both cases, several officials from the Trump administration quickly defended the actions of the agents as warranted, while making statements about the events that subsequent analyses revealed were contradicted by the available video footage.