US President Donald Trump stated his administration is reviewing the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by immigration agents in Minneapolis, which has sparked criticism from former Presidents Obama and Clinton.
US President Donald Trump said his administration is "reviewing everything" after immigration agents fatally shot Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday.
In comments to the Wall Street Journal on Sunday, Trump declined twice to say whether the officer had acted appropriately in the shooting. He also indicated federal agents would eventually withdraw from the city, though he provided no timeline.
The death of Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse, marks the second fatal shooting of a US citizen by immigration officers in Minneapolis in less than three weeks, prompting sharp criticism from former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.
Barack and Michelle Obama said in a statement Sunday that Pretti's killing should serve as a "wake-up call" that core US values "are increasingly under assault".
Hours later, Clinton issued a pointed rebuke of the current administration, saying peaceful protesters "have been arrested, beaten, teargassed, and most searingly, in the cases of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, shot and killed."
"All of this is unacceptable," Clinton said, urging Americans to "stand up, speak out. If we give our freedoms away after 250 years, we might never get them back."
Parents decry 'sickening lies'
Video verified by US media showed agents shooting Pretti seconds after spraying him with a chemical irritant and throwing him to the icy ground.
The footage shows Pretti never drew a weapon, contradicting administration officials who described him as an "assassin" who had assaulted federal agents and was found with a pistol.
Pretti's parents condemned what they called "sickening lies" about their son in a statement issued Saturday.
The shootings occurred during "Operation Metro Surge," which has deployed thousands of federal immigration agents to the heavily Democratic city for weeks. Trump has blamed the deaths on Minnesota's Democratic leadership, including Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, calling the situation "Democrat ensued chaos."
Renee Good, also 37, was killed by an immigration officer while sitting in her car on 7 January. Trump's administration has excluded local investigators from examining her death.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday that an investigation into Pretti's killing was necessary, though administration officials have defended the shooting officer.
Multiple Republican senators have called for a thorough probe and cooperation with local authorities.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison rejected Trump's fraud allegations, saying: "It's not about fraud, because if he sent people who understand forensic accounting, we'd be having a different conversation. But he's sending armed masked men."
Walz directly challenged the president during a Sunday press briefing, asking: "What do we need to do to get these federal agents out of our state?"
Disapproval grows
Business leaders from 60 corporations headquartered in Minnesota, including Target, General Mills and several professional sports franchises, signed an open letter Sunday calling for immediate de-escalation and for authorities to cooperate.
Protesters gathered in Minneapolis on Sunday to denounce Immigration and Customs Enforcement, with one holding a sign reading: "Be Pretti, be Good."
Recent polling shows growing public disapproval of Trump's domestic immigration operations as videos spread of masked agents seizing people from sidewalks, including children.
Since the operation began, many Minneapolis residents have carried whistles to alert others when immigration agents appear, while sometimes violent confrontations have erupted between officers and protesters.
The city has one of the United States' highest concentrations of Somali immigrants and is known for its harsh winters.