President Donald Trump has ordered his border czar, Tom Homan, to Minnesota to take control of federal immigration operations in the state, amid rising tensions and criticism over the administration’s tactics following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti.

Trump announced the move Monday morning, as a federal judge in Minneapolis began a hearing to consider whether the Trump administration’s surge of thousands of federal law enforcement officers in Minnesota violated the state’s sovereignty.

Since the forces’ arrival, Pretti and another U.S. citizen have been killed by federal agents, thousands of people have been arrested and tense protests have erupted across the state.

Lawyers for the state of Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul are seeking to temporarily halt the deployment of some 3,000 immigration agents, arguing that it has crossed the line into an unconstitutional and illegal occupation. The Trump administration has called the state’s legal theory a fundamental misreading of the 10th Amendment, which gives powers not reserved for the federal government to the states. The judge could rule at any time.

The Trump administration has faced mounting scrutiny over Pretti’s killing Saturday, and as a growing number of Republican lawmakers have called for a robust investigation or raised grave concerns about the tactics used by the Trump administration in its immigration crackdown.

Trump has blamed Democratic leaders for Pretti’s death, accusing them of refusing to cooperate with federal immigration agents and “encouraging Leftwing Agitators to unlawfully obstruct their operations.”

Trump said in a social media post Monday morning that Homan would arrive in Minnesota by the end of the day and report directly to him. Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said in her own post that Homan would “be managing ICE Operations on the ground,” referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and adding that he would “continue arresting the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens.”

Top Trump administration officials have claimed, without evidence, that Pretti was a “would-be assassin” seeking to harm federal agents and asserted that he had committed an act of “domestic terrorism.” Videos contradict descriptions of the encounter by administration officials, and Democratic officials have roundly criticized Trump officials’ characterization of the shooting.

Pretti’s death was the second killing of a U.S. citizen in Minneapolis this month, after Renee Good was fatally shot by an immigration agent. Minnesota officials investigating Good’s killing accused the federal government of hampering their work.

In the hours after Pretti’s death, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order that barred U.S. officials from “destroying or altering” evidence. A hearing in that case was scheduled for Monday afternoon in St. Paul.

Here’s What We’re Covering:

— The victim: Pretti’s friends, family and colleagues denounced what they said were “sickening lies” by the Trump administration. They described Pretti, an intensive care unit nurse, as a happy, generous man who loved biking and walking his dog.

— Leadership change: Trump’s decision to send Homan to Minnesota came amid increased criticism of an enforcement operation that has mostly been the responsibility of Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, and Gregory Bovino, a top Border Patrol official.

— Disillusioned officers: Watching the chaos unfold in Minneapolis, some current and former officials at the Department of Homeland Security described growing fear and frustration with Operation Metro Surge, as the administration has named its Minnesota campaign, even as they support the goal of immigration enforcement.

— Political fallout: Senate Democrats said they would move to block a bipartisan spending package that includes $10 billion for ICE and must be approved by a Friday deadline to avert a government shutdown.

— Agents involved: Bovino said Sunday that the agents involved in the shooting would remain with the agency, but would be moved out of Minneapolis, citing safety concerns.

— False posts: Pro-Trump influencers and others on social media have muddled the evidence in the killing of Pretti, posting misleading and fabricated content.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Mitch Smith and Yan Zhuang/David Guttenfelde
c. 2026 The New York Times Company