Trump insists shakeup in MN immigration operations isn't a 'pullback' [View all]

Source: USA Today

Updated Jan. 27, 2026, 9:16 p.m. ET


DES MOINES — President Donald Trump said he wants to "de-escalate" the explosive situation in Minnesota after federal agents fatally shot two people in recent weeks, insisting a shakeup in leadership of his immigration enforcement team in the state was not a "pullback" by the administration.

The Trump administration has been reeling from intense backlash to its operations in Minnesota after federal agents killed Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti this month. The president sent Tom Homan, his border czar, to take over the Minnesota operation led by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Border Patrol leader Gregory Bovino.

Immigration enforcement tactics in Minnesota have generated heavy criticism, and Trump indicated during a Fox News interview before a speech in Clive, Iowa, that Bovino's "out there" approach wasn't right for the situation. "Bovino is very good," Trump said. "But he's a pretty out there kind of a guy, and in some cases, that's good maybe it wasn't good here."

Trump also said during the interview that he wants to take down the temperature as protesters clash with federal agents in the streets of Minneapolis, a chaotic scene punctuated by the pair of shocking deaths that have gripped the nation. "We're going to de-escalate a little bit," the president said. Trump changed course in Minneapolis after federal agents shot Pretti on Jan. 24, toning down his rhetoric and speaking with Democratic leadership in Minnesota as he retreated from the confrontational approach that has characterized his immigration enforcement efforts.

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/01/27/donald-trump-minnesota-ice-iowa-immigration-pretti-good/88382261007/