Trump sends border advisor Tom Homan to Minnesota as federal immigration tactics face growing scrutiny

As federal immigration tactics face increasing legal and political scrutiny after a U.S. Border Patrol agent fatally shot a Minneapolis man over the weekend, President Trump announced Monday that he is sending his border adviser, Tom Homan, to Minnesota.

Until now, Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino has overseen the federal government’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota. But as the Trump administration’s Department of Homeland Security faces widespread criticism for its aggressive tactics since launching Operation Metro Surge in December, Trump signaled Monday that he may change strategy by deploying Homan to the region.

“He hasn’t been involved in that, but he knows and likes a lot of people there,” Trump said of Homan on Truth Social. “Tom is tough but fair and will report directly to me.”

Trump also said Monday that he had a “very good call” with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who over the weekend called on the president to end federal immigration enforcement in his state and “remove the thousands of violent, untrained agents from Minnesota.”

“We actually seemed to be on the same page,” Trump wrote on TruthSocial.

“I told Governor Walz that I would have Tom Homan call him and we are looking for any criminals that they have,” Trump added. “The governor, very respectfully, understood that… He was happy that Tom Homan was going to Minnesota, and so was I!”

Trump’s latest statements come as a federal judge heard arguments Monday on whether to temporarily halt the Trump administration’s immigration measures in Minnesota. Meanwhile, Democratic senators are considering opposing a Department of Homeland Security funding bill, raising the possibility of a partial government shutdown, and a small but growing number of Republicans — including former Vice President Mike Pence — have joined Democratic calls for a full investigation into the killing of Alex Pretti.

The Department of Homeland Security said Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse in an intensive care unit, approached federal agents on the street Saturday morning with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun and “violently resisted” when the agents tried to disarm him. But cell phone videos recorded by eyewitnesses contradict this version.

According to videos taken at the scene, Pretti was holding a phone, not a handgun, when he stepped in front of a federal agent who was targeting a woman with pepper spray. Federal agents pulled him to the ground and shot him.

Pretti is the second U.S. citizen in Minneapolis to be killed by immigration agents this month. On January 7, Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother, was shot in the head by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem drew criticism over the weekend when she said her agency would lead the investigation into Pretti’s killing.

After federal officials denied Minnesota state investigators access to the shooting scene in south Minneapolis, local and Minnesota state officials accused the Homeland Security agency of mishandling the evidence. On Saturday evening, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension asked a federal court to stop Homeland Security and Justice Department officials from destroying or hiding evidence.

On Monday, former Vice President Pence, a Republican who served during Trump’s first term, called footage of the shooting “deeply disturbing.”

“A full and transparent investigation into this officer involved shooting must occur immediately,” Pence wrote on

It’s not yet clear how Bovino’s role might change as Homan arrives in Minneapolis.

Noem, who has supported Bovino’s aggressive tactics, said Monday that it was “good news” that Homan was heading to Minneapolis.

“I have worked closely with Tom over the past year and he has been a great asset to our team,” Noem wrote on X. Homan’s “experience and insight,” she said, “would help us remove even more public safety threats and violent and illegal criminal aliens” from the streets of Minneapolis.

But some Minnesota Democrats oppose sending Homan to Minnesota. Minneapolis City Council member Soren Stevenson said the move would only escalate tensions.

“They’re losing the battle in people’s minds,” Stevenson told CNN, noting that people could see video evidence contradicting federal narratives about Border Patrol agents’ actions.

“They’re losing this narrative battle and so he’s sending in his best guard,” Stevenson added. “And in reality, it’s escalating, because we just want to be left alone. The chaos in our community is coming from ICE. It’s coming from this invasion that we’re experiencing…and it has to stop.”

In a short interview with The Wall Street Journal on Sunday, Trump criticized Pretti for carrying a gun during a protest activity.

“I don’t like the shooting. I don’t like it,” Trump said. “But I don’t like it when someone goes to a protest and they have a very powerful gun, fully loaded, with two magazines equally loaded with bullets. That doesn’t play well either.”

The president declined to say whether the officer who shot Pretti did the right thing. “We’re looking,” Trump said when pressed. “We are looking at everything and will make a decision.”

Democratic officials, from Walz to Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, have repeatedly called on federal immigration agents to leave Minneapolis. On Sunday, Trump suggested they might withdraw, but he did not give a timetable.

“At some point we will leave,” the president said. “They did a phenomenal job.”