MINNEAPOLIS: President Donald Trump sent his top border enforcer to Minneapolis on Monday and struck a conciliatory note in a bid to tamp down nationwide outrage over the <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/second-death-in-minneapolis-crackdown-heaps-pressure-on-trump" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">second</a>&nbsp;killing of a US citizen protesting militarized&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/fury-grows-over-fiveyearolds-detention-in-us-immigration-crackdown" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">immigration</a>&nbsp;raids this month. The White House was scrambling as video of the latest shooting went viral, prompting street protests, criticism from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/obama-clinton-say-killings-by-agents-should-be-wakeup-call-for-us" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">former presidents</a>&nbsp;Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, and, increasingly, from within Trump&#39;s Republican Party. Trump said that Tom Homan, his point man for border security, &quot;will report directly to me.&quot; Homan&#39;s new role appears to be an acknowledgement that the administration has run into political damage, with polls showing a majority of Americans disapprove of the often-brutal crackdown by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. In a marked change of tone, Trump said he held a &quot;very good&quot; talk with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, a Democrat whom he has repeatedly blamed for allowing illegal immigration and corruption. He also said he had called Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, another Democrat. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that &quot;nobody in the White House, including President Trump, wants to see people getting hurt or killed.&quot; She also expressed sorrow for the death of Alex Pretti, an intensive care unit nurse who was gunned down Saturday at point-blank range by immigration officers while protesting in Minneapolis. Earlier, top Trump officials had branded Pretti, 37, a &quot;domestic terrorist.&quot; In yet another indication of a pivot, US media reported that controversial Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino was leaving Minneapolis. However, there was no sign of Trump retreating from the broader, hardline policy of sending heavily armed, masked and unidentified ICE agents into Democratic-run cities to track down people breaking immigration laws &mdash; actions that Bovino has relished in leading. There remain &quot;hundreds of thousands&quot; of &quot;the worst illegal aliens&quot; left to deport, Leavitt said. Ground zero&nbsp;Reducing illegal immigration is popular and helped Trump win the 2024 election. However, daily videos of violent encounters between suspects and masked agents, as well as multiple reports of people being targeted on flimsy evidence, have helped send Trump&#39;s approval ratings plummeting. Minneapolis has become ground zero in the turmoil. A huge rally took place despite the bitter cold on Friday to protest the raids and the shooting dead by an ICE agent of protester Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, on Jan. 7. Like Pretti, she had been shot at close range and was a US citizen. After Pretti was killed, more rallies erupted on the weekend in Minneapolis, New York, and other major cities. Opening a new front in the crisis, a federal judge in Minneapolis heard arguments Monday on whether the deployment of federal officers violates the state of Minnesota&#39;s sovereignty. In a separate hearing, a judge was considering a request to force federal officials to preserve evidence in the killing of Pretti, saying she would rule quickly. Adding to pressure in Congress, Democrats are threatening to hold up funding for the US government unless immigration enforcement agencies are reformed. Republican pushback&nbsp;Trump&#39;s initial reaction to Pretti&#39;s killing was to suggest that he approached with the intent to shoot at the police. Pretti had a pistol with him at the time, but never removed it from its holster and had apparently already been disarmed when he was shot multiple times at point-blank range. He was licensed to carry a weapon. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison on Sunday accused Trump of pushing a &quot;flat-out insane&quot; narrative. Monday&#39;s shift in White House messaging came as Republicans &mdash; who only rarely criticize their 79-year-old party leader in public &mdash; began to express alarm. One of the most prominent cautions came from House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer, who signaled Sunday that federal agents should withdraw from Minneapolis &mdash; an intervention that would normally be unheard of from a figure considered one of Trump&#39;s staunchest loyalists. Republican Chris Madel sent shockwaves when he dropped out of the running for Minnesota&#39;s upcoming governor race to replace Walz, saying he could not remain a member of a party inflicting &quot;retribution on the citizens of our state.&quot; Even Texas Governor Greg Abbott, one of Trump&#39;s most dependable supporters, called for the federal authorities &quot;to recalibrate.&quot;

Americas

White House press secretary says 'nobody in the White House, including President Trump, wants to see people getting hurt or killed''; adds there remain 'hundreds of thousands' of 'the worst illegal aliens' left to deport.

Trump attempts to pivot in face of Minneapolis killing backlash

MINNEAPOLIS: Former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton issued pointed calls on Sunday for America to stand up and defend their values after the second killing of a citizen in Minneapolis by immigration agents that Donald Trump blamed on Democratic &quot;chaos.&quot; The Trump administration has faced intensifying pressure over its mass immigration crackdown, particularly after federal agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, Saturday while scuffling with him on an icy roadway. That incident came less than three weeks after an immigration officer fired on Renee Good, also 37, killing her in her car in the same Midwestern city. Trump administration officials quickly claimed Pretti had intended to harm the federal agents &mdash; as they did after Good&#39;s death &mdash; pointing to a pistol they said was discovered on him. However, video shared widely on social media and verified by US media showed Pretti never drawing a weapon, with agents firing at him seconds after he was sprayed in the face with chemical irritant and thrown to the ground. Trump provocatively attributed the deaths to Minnesota&#39;s Democratic elected officials, including Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, writing on his Truth Social platform: &quot;Democrat run Sanctuary Cities and States are REFUSING to cooperate with ICE.&quot; &quot;Tragically, two American Citizens have lost their lives as a result of this Democrat ensued chaos,&quot; he added. After top officials described Pretti as an &quot;assassin&quot; who had assaulted the agents, Pretti&#39;s parents issued a statement Saturday condemning the administration&#39;s &quot;sickening lies&quot; about their son. With tensions high, protesters gathered Sunday in Minneapolis, denouncing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). One person held a cardboard sign that read: &quot;Be Pretti, be Good.&quot; The double tragedies have stirred outrage, including from two of Trump&#39;s Democratic presidential predecessors. Barack and Michelle Obama on Sunday said in a statement that Pretti&#39;s shooting should be a &quot;wake-up call&quot; that core US values &quot;are increasingly under assault.&quot; Hours later Bill Clinton delivered a fierce indictment of the current administration, saying peaceful protesters &quot;have been arrested, beaten, teargassed, and most searingly, in the cases of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, shot and killed.&quot; &quot;All of this is unacceptable,&quot; Clinton said in a statement as he urged Americans to &quot;stand up, speak out.&quot; &quot;If we give our freedoms away after 250 years, we might never get them back.&quot;

Barack, Michelle say shooting should be a sign that core US values "are increasingly under assault”; Bill Clinton delivers fierce indictment of current administration, says peaceful protesters "have been arrested, beaten, teargassed, and most searingly, in the cases of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, shot and killed."

Obama, Clinton say killings by agents should be wake-up call for US

MINNEAPOLIS: The US attorney general announced on Thursday the arrest of three people for allegedly disturbing a church service while protesting the massive immigration crackdown in Minnesota, as Vice President JD Vance blamed local leaders for disorder. Nekima Levy Armstrong, Chauntyll Louisa Allen and William Kelly were arrested in connection with a Sunday protest at Cities Church in the state capital St. Paul, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on X. St. Paul and the neighboring metropolis of Minneapolis have been the epicenter of a major deployment of federal agents by the Trump administration to the Democratic-led northern US state. Tensions have flared in the state over a wave of arrests and the killing of protester Renee Good, 37, by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent. Vance, who has aggressively defended the officer who shot Good in her car on January 7, was in Minnesota Thursday and blamed local Democratic leaders for the chaotic rollout of ICE raids in the state. &quot;Yes, protest. Protest me. Protest our immigration policy, but do it peacefully. If you assault a law enforcement officer the Trump administration and the Department of Justice is going to prosecute you,&quot; Vance said, flanked by ICE officers and vehicles. He attacked elected local leaders, both political and policing, in Minneapolis which is a sanctuary city, meaning police do not cooperate with federal immigration sweeps. Vance claimed these leaders were hindering ICE efforts. &quot;The lack of cooperation between state and local officials makes it harder for us to do our job and turns up the temperature,&quot; Vance said. Trump made cracking down on undocumented migrants the centerpiece of his campaign for reelection and has overseen a rapid expansion of ICE&#39;s ranks and immigration sweeps, with Maine in the northeast singled out this week for intensified enforcement. Department of Homeland Security and FBI &quot;agents executed an arrest in Minnesota,&quot; US Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote on X. &quot;So far, we have arrested Nekima Levy Armstrong, who allegedly played a key role in organizing the coordinated attack on Cities Church,&quot; Bondi said. &quot;Listen loud and clear: WE DO NOT TOLERATE ATTACKS ON PLACES OF WORSHIP,&quot; she warned. Tear gas&nbsp;She later wrote that officers had also arrested Allen and Kelly for the action where an immigration official was apparently leading a service, according to US media. &quot;WE WILL PROTECT OUR HOUSES OF WORSHIP,&quot; she posted. FBI Director Kash Patel posted on X that Armstrong had been arrested under the FACE Act, a law intended to protect those seeking to access abortion clinics and places of worship. Minnesota has sought a temporary restraining order for the ICE operation in the state which, if granted by a federal judge, would pause the sweeps. There will be a hearing on the application Monday. There have been confrontations between federal agents and protesters who have demanded a full investigation of Good&#39;s killing, with officers frequently deploying pepper spray and tear gas. A number of school children have walked out of classes in protest at the ICE operation in the city. ICE has detained at least four children from the same Minneapolis school district this month, including a five-year-old boy, administrators said according to local media Wednesday. &quot;The five-year-old was not arrested ... his dad was an illegal alien, and then they went to arrest his illegal alien father, the father ran,&quot; Vance claimed. The officer who fired the shots that killed Good, Jonathan Ross, has neither been suspended nor charged with any crime. Trump and his officials quickly defended his actions as being legitimately made in self-defense. The federal immigration sweeps in Minneapolis have occurred amid a highly politicized fraud investigation in Minnesota.

Tensions have flared in the state over a wave of arrests and the killing of protester Renee Good, 37, by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent.

US arrests three who disrupted church over Minnesota immigration crackdown

Web Desk/AFP

WASHINGTON: A US federal immigration agent shot a man in Minneapolis, city officials said, urging the public to &quot;remain calm&quot; a week after agents shot and killed an American woman in the same city. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O&#39;Hara said the shooting resulted from a struggle in front of a residence between a man and an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/who-was-renee-nicole-good-the-woman-killed-by-us-immigration-police" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">ICE</a>) agent on the north side of the city Wednesday evening. &quot;During the struggle, the federal agent discharged his weapon, striking one adult male,&quot; O&#39;Hara told reporters at a press conference. The man suffered a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to his leg and was transported to a hospital for treatment, officials said. The shooting marked the second time in a week an ICE agent had shot someone in Minneapolis, with the previous shooting resulting in the death of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good on January 7, sparking ongoing&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/anger-over-minneapolis-shooting-probe-fuels-protests" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">protests</a>&nbsp;against the presence of federal agents in the northern US city. &quot;We understand there is anger,&quot; officials wrote on the midwestern city&#39;s X account, adding that &quot;the City of Minneapolis again demands that ICE leave the city and the state immediately.&quot; O&#39;Hara said Wednesday&#39;s shooting generated a crowd of protesters around where it happened, with some throwing fireworks at officers. &#39;This is not sustainable&#39; <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/afghan-national-arrested-near-dc-for-isisk-support-homeland-security" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Department of Homeland Security</a>&nbsp;officials confirmed the shooting in a post on X, saying &quot;an illegal alien from Venezuela&quot; was targeted for a traffic stop and resisted arrest. &quot;While the subject and law enforcement were in a struggle on the ground, two subjects came out of a nearby apartment and also attacked the law enforcement officer with a snow shovel and broom handle,&quot; DHS said. The officer then &quot;fired a defensive shot to defend his life,&quot; hitting the initial subject in the leg. Elected officials in Minneapolis and the state of Minnesota have decried the actions of Department of Homeland Security agents, including those with ICE. &quot;This is not sustainable,&quot; Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey told reporters, adding: &quot;We have ICE agents throughout our city and throughout our state who, along with Border Patrol, are creating chaos.&quot; &quot;This is not the path that we should be on right now in America.&quot; In a video posted to social media earlier Wednesday, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz decried &quot;the chaos, disruption and trauma the federal government is raining down on our community,&quot; describing door-to-door interrogations by &quot;armed, masked, undertrained&quot; ICE agents. The Democrat said federal immigration authorities have deployed thousands of agents to Minnesota and were carrying out enforcement operations he said are disrupting communities and affecting residents, including US citizens. Walz described the actions as excessive and politically motivated, criticized the federal government&rsquo;s response to a recent death during an operation, and cited the resignation of several federal prosecutors as raising constitutional concerns. He urged residents to protest peacefully, document enforcement activity, and pursue accountability through the courts and elections, while reaffirming Minnesota&rsquo;s commitment to the rule of law and civil rights. Detention reaches record levels According to the Department of Homeland Security&rsquo;s (DHS) 2025 Year in Review, the administration reported more than 622,000 removals from the United States between Jan. 20, 2025, and late 2025. DHS also said more than 2 million people left the country voluntarily under &ldquo;Project Homecoming,&rdquo; which encouraged self-deportation through incentives and a self-reporting feature on the CBP Home app. It also reported a sharp increase in interior enforcement, including more than 10,000 arrests in the Los Angeles area since June 2025 and more than 4,500 arrests during an operation known as &ldquo;Operation Midway Blitz.&rdquo; In Minnesota, DHS said more than 1,360 people were targeted for arrest detainers during &ldquo;Operation Metro Surge,&rdquo; while a separate initiative, &ldquo;Operation Tidal Wave,&rdquo; resulted in 1,100 arrests in six days. DHS reported arrests this month of individuals it identified as suspected gang members and people with prior violent crime convictions. <figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/b0af2d29-7c8f-44ce-9859-d9c2d15b25ad-deportations.jpg" alt="deportations.jpg" class="fr-fil fr-dib"></figure> Meanwhile, ICE detention data current as of early January 2026 shows the detained population reached a record high of 68,990 people held in 212 facilities nationwide. ICE reported an average of 1,220 arrests per day in December 2025, with the daily rate falling to 315 arrests during the first week of January, which the agency attributed to a seasonal slowdown. ICE said it was monitoring more than 180,000 people through alternatives to detention programs, including a record number using GPS ankle monitors. <img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/f1e21256-56b6-44b7-a02f-9306cc299143-unnamed (1).png" alt="unnamed (1).png" class="fr-fil fr-dib"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">Source: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Statistics and Detention Management Reports (2025-2026).</figcaption> Independent analyses from the American Immigration Council said the detention population continued to climb toward 70,000 by mid-January. Data from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse shows Texas held the largest number of ICE detainees, with nearly 18,000, followed by Louisiana and California. TRAC also reported ICE expanded its detention network significantly in 2025, using 104 more facilities by the end of the year than at the start, nearly doubling its total capacity.

The shooting comes amid record ICE detentions of nearly 69,000 people, thousands of arrests nationwide, and rising protests in Minnesota.

US ICE agent shoots Venezuelan man amid record immigration enforcement

WASHINGTON: The Trump administration in recent months has latched onto news of a large-scale public benefit fraud scandal to carry out immigration raids and harsher policies targeting Minnesota&#39;s large Somali migrant community. Federal charges have been filed against 98 people accused of embezzlement of public funds and -- as Attorney General Pam Bondi stressed on Monday -- 85 of the defendants are &quot;of Somali descent.&quot; Fifty-seven people have already been convicted in the scheme to divert $300 million in public grants intended to distribute free meals to children -- but the meals never existed, prosecutors said.&ldquo;What&#39;s happening in Minnesota is a microcosm of the immigration fraud in our system,&rdquo; Vice President JD Vance posted on X. &quot;Politicians like it because they get power. Welfare cheats like it because they get rich. But it&#39;s a zero-sum game, and they&#39;re stealing both money and political power from Minnesotans.&quot;<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-3" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 573px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-3&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2005041100860354975&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=2d18d213b3a3c8271b0313a47e46fd445f84f063&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" data-tweet-id="2005041100860354975">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div><h2 style="line-height: 2;">80,000 members&nbsp;</h2>Republican elected officials and federal prosecutors accuse local Democratic authorities of turning a blind eye to numerous warnings because the fraud involved Minnesota&rsquo;s Somali community, the largest in the country, with around 80,000 members. &ldquo;When whistleblowers raised concerns, they were told that they shouldn&#39;t say anything out of fear of being called racist or Islamophobic, or because it was going to hurt political constituency of the governor and the ruling party, the Democrats here,&rdquo; state representative Kristin Robbins, a Republican who is running for governor, told AFP. Walz rejects accusation&nbsp;Democratic Governor Tim Walz -- former vice president Kamala Harris&#39;s unsuccessful running mate in 2024 -- rejects the accusation. While the case became public in 2022, prosecutors ramped it up again this year with hotly politicized revelations. Another Republican candidate for governor, state house speaker Lisa Demuth, told AFP the case is &ldquo;finally getting the attention that it&#39;s needed.&rdquo; Right-leaning YouTube content creator Nick Shirley reignited interest in the case over the holidays with a video that he claims shows daycare centers which are siphoning public money. The video -- which blew up on X with 127 million views and played repeatedly on Fox News -- resonated with Trump&#39;s &quot;Make America Great Again&quot; (MAGA) circles, who are opposed to what they deem to be overly generous social and immigration policies.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-4" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 673px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-4&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2004642794862961123&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=2d18d213b3a3c8271b0313a47e46fd445f84f063&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" data-tweet-id="2004642794862961123">&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>The Trump administration responded to the outcry immediately, with Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin telling Fox News that hundreds of investigators were targeting local businesses in Minneapolis. &ldquo;We believe that there is rampant fraud, whether it be daycare centers, health care centers, or other organizations,&rdquo; she said. As part of the crackdown, federal health officials announced a broad freeze of funding to Minnesota and across the country. &ldquo;We have frozen all child care payments to the state of Minnesota,&rdquo; Health and Human Services (HHS) deputy Jim O&#39;Neill wrote in an X post Tuesday.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-5" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 720px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-5&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2006136004294664464&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=2d18d213b3a3c8271b0313a47e46fd445f84f063&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" data-tweet-id="2006136004294664464"></iframe></div></div>HHS has broad spending oversight for programs for the underprivileged, including Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, early education of toddlers and foster care. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">Calls to strip US citizenship&nbsp;</h2>Minnesota congressman Tom Emmer, a leading figure in the Republican majority of Congress, called for mass &ldquo;denaturalization and deportation of every Somali engaged in fraud in Minnesota,&rdquo; in an X post Monday. President Donald Trump preceded Emmer&#39;s call with similar sentiments at the end of November, when a conservative outlet claimed money embezzled in Minnesota was being used to fund Somalia&#39;s Al-Shabaab, an Al-Qaeda linked Islamist militant group. That accusation has since been denied by the prosecutor in the case. But the US president was quick to accuse &ldquo;Somali gangs&rdquo; of &ldquo;terrorizing&rdquo; Minnesotans and ended their Temporary Protected Status, a program that exempted Somalis from deportation to their war-torn country. &#39;Trash&#39; A week later, Trump escalated the rhetoric, saying Somalia &ldquo;stinks&rdquo; and calling Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar -- who is of Somali origin &ndash; &ldquo;trash.&rdquo; A surge in immigration raids followed those comments, creating &ldquo;a dangerous atmosphere of chaos and instability that is making it harder for our police officers to keep Minneapolis safe,&rdquo; mayor Jacob Frey said at the time. Democratic lawmaker Zaynab Mohamed, whose family emigrated from Somalia when she was a child, decried the Trump administration&rsquo;s actions. &ldquo;Trump is scapegoating a tiny piece of the population,&rdquo; she said.&nbsp; &ldquo;This is not about crime. It&rsquo;s not about safety. This is about purging people like me from this country.&rdquo;

Federal charges have been filed against 98 people accused of embezzlement of public funds and -- as Attorney General Pam Bondi stressed on Monday -- 85 of the defendants are "of Somali descent."

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