Author: Brad Brooks and Ted Hutson
MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) – U.S. border czar Tom Homan said on Thursday that federal agents would focus on targeted operations rather than widespread street sweeps that have sparked widespread outrage.
Homan also said he would reduce the 3,000 Secret Service agents deployed in the city if he received “cooperation” from state and local leaders, noting that he had productive meetings with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, both of whom have been outspoken critics of the troop surge.
“We can do better,” he told a news conference, a rare admission by Trump officials that the operation was not perfect. “We’ve had some great results, significant coordination and collaboration, and you’re going to see some big changes in the city.”
Homan, speaking publicly for the first time since Trump sent him to the city on Monday in response to nationwide outcry, suggested continued efforts to de-escalate tensions in the administration. The government is facing growing political pressure after two U.S. citizens were shot to death by federal agents.
Federal officials told not to engage with ‘agitators’
New internal guidance from top Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials instructs federal officials to avoid unnecessary communication and contact with “agitators” to avoid “escalating the situation.”
The directive, seen by Reuters, also orders ICE officers to target only immigrants with criminal charges or convictions on their record, a departure from previous tactics that included randomly stopping people on the street and asking them to provide written proof of legal residence or citizenship in the United States.
Homan echoed that, saying agents will prioritize those who pose a threat to public safety or national security, though he stressed the Trump administration remains committed to deporting all immigrants it says are living in the country illegally.
“We’re not abandoning our mission at all, we’re just doing it smarter,” he said.
He also pushed to give ICE agents more access to Minnesota prisons so they could pick up targeted immigrants after they are released from local detention facilities, which he said would reduce the need for more destructive and dangerous street sweeps.
Separately, the Justice Department charged a man with assaulting or intimidating a U.S. official after he sprayed liquid at a Minneapolis city hall in Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar’s district on Tuesday night. The incident underscored Minneapolis’ contentious politics.
According to a criminal complaint, the liquid Anthony Kazmierzak is accused of spraying Omar with a syringe was apple cider vinegar. He was also charged by the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office in Minneapolis with terroristic threats, a felony, and fifth-degree assault under Minnesota law.
Omar, a frequent target of Trump, blamed the president’s “hateful rhetoric” for the attack. Kazmierchak, who expressed support for Trump on social media, has three previous criminal convictions — two for driving under the influence and one for felony theft of a motor vehicle, records show. It was unclear whether he had a lawyer.
Trump, who called Omar “trash,” dismissed the attack and suggested without evidence that it was orchestrated by the congresswoman.
“Experienced agents” involved in Pretti’s shoot
Minneapolis has been the scene of widespread protests since Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was shot and killed by ICE agents in her car on January 7.
Public outrage deepened Saturday morning after federal agents shot and killed 37-year-old critical care nurse Alex Pretti.
In both cases, Trump administration officials immediately defended the federal agents involved in the shootings and denounced Goode and Pretty as “domestic terrorists” who they claimed threatened law enforcement.
Multiple video recordings of both incidents contradict the notion that Good or Pretty intended to harm anyone.
Little is known about the two agents who fired Preti 10 times: a Border Patrol agent and an officer with U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Field Operations, which oversees customs inspections.
The government did not name the masked agents or provide details about their backgrounds. During Trump’s nationwide crackdown, federal immigration agents often wore masks to hide their identities or wore clothing that did not identify their names or agencies.
Paul Perez, president of the National Border Patrol Council, the union that represents Border Patrol agents, said the border agents involved in Preti’s shooting had about eight years of experience and had received extensive training in the use of force and firearms, as well as crowd control training in border settings.
“This is not a rookie agent, this is an experienced agent,” said Perez, who declined to name the agent due to security concerns.
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Preeti, the agents had a conflict earlier.
Newly unearthed video verified by Reuters shows Preti getting into a physical altercation with federal agents 11 days before he was shot. In the video, Preeti, who is wearing some of the jackets he was wearing when he was killed, can be seen cursing, yelling and spitting at a car before kicking and smashing its taillights as it began to leave the scene.
Several agents stopped the SUV, got out and pushed Preeti to the ground, while others fired gas into the protesting crowd. Eventually, agents told Pretty to walk away, and he could be seen holding what appeared to be a gun in his waistband.
Video of Saturday’s killing showed an agent pulling a gun from Preti’s waistband after he was pinned to the ground, and seconds later another officer fired the first shot into the now-unarmed Preti’s back.
Preity has a legal permit to carry a concealed weapon.
(Reporting by Brad Brooks in Minneapolis and Ted Hesson in Washington; Writing by Joseph Axe and Steve Gorman; Additional reporting by Kristina Cooke, Susan Heavey, Doina Chiacu, Jonathan Allen, Jarrett Renshaw, Andrew Hay, Marine Delrue, Maria Paula Laguna, Fernando Robles and Gerardo Gomez; Editing by Paul Thomasch, Nick Zieminski, Rod Nickel)