Jan. 26 (UPI) — President Donald Trump’s border czar Tom Homan will go to Minnesota to lead U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s operations in Minneapolis on Monday.
Trump said Homan will go to Minnesota on Monday night and will report directly to him.
“He has not been involved in that area but knows and likes many of the people there,” Trump said of Homan. “Tom is tough but fair and will report directly to me.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a social media post that Homan may also assist with a federal investigation into social services fraud in Minnesota.
The decision follows another killing of a U.S. citizen by federal agents over the weekend. Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old Minneapolis resident, was shot several times after being tackled to the ground and beaten by federal agents on Saturday morning.
Pretti was an intensive care unit nurse at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center. He is the second U.S. citizen killed by ICE agents in the Minneapolis area this month, following the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good by agent Jonathan Ross on Jan. 7.
The Trump administration has defended both killings, alleging that the agents’ actions were justified, despite numerous videos showing Good driving away from agents and Pretti simply filming agent activities.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed on Saturday that Pretti brandished a gun at ICE agents. Pretti had a 9mm handgun on his person but video of the incident does not show him drawing the weapon at any time.
The firearm was taken by a federal agent before 10 shots were fired on Pretti.
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