Minnesota Governor Calls for Removal of Federal Immigration Agents

US President Donald Trump’s administration faces increased scrutiny over its immigration enforcement efforts following a second fatal shooting involving federal agents.

On Saturday, Border Patrol agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse from Minnesota, while he was demonstrating in Minneapolis. The incident occurred less than three weeks after another immigrant, Renee Good, was fatally shot by an immigration officer in her car.

According to the Trump administration, Pretti had intended to harm the agents, citing a pistol allegedly found on him. However, videos shared on social media and verified by US media show that Pretti never drew a weapon, with agents firing approximately 10 shots at him seconds after he was sprayed with a chemical irritant and thrown to the ground.

The incident has sparked outrage among local law enforcement, Minneapolis residents, and Democrats on Capitol Hill. Minnesota’s Democratic Governor Tim Walz has demanded that Trump pull “untrained” federal immigration agents out of the state.

Walz posed a question directly to Trump during a news briefing on Sunday, asking what plan was in place to address the situation. He also asked what steps needed to be taken to remove federal agents from Minnesota.

Senior Trump administration officials have defended Pretti’s killing, despite graphic video evidence contradicting their accounts. The incident has further inflamed ongoing protests in Minneapolis against the presence of federal immigration agents.

The Trump administration has maintained that federal agents are acting within their authority, with Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Gregory Bovino stating that the victims were indeed border patrol agents. However, some experts have raised concerns about the lack of communication among federal agents during the incident.

A former head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s field office in Baltimore, Darius Reeves, expressed concern over the apparent lack of coordination among federal agents, citing signs that an officer may have taken possession of Pretti’s weapon before he was killed.

Source: Al Jazeera