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In possible thaw, Trump and Minnesota's governor talk after fatal shooting
Trump, for his part, has spent the past month accusing Walz of incompetence for failing to stop a welfare-fraud scandal in the state.
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Reuters - Mon, 26, Jan 2026
- 15:43 EST
- 21
Trump and Minnesota's governor / Reuters
President Donald Trump and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said on Jan. 26 they had a productive discussion on immigration enforcement, in a possible sign that Trump might consider de-escalating a surge of agents who have killed two U.S. citizens in the state.
Trump said he was "on a similar wavelength" with the Democratic governor, weeks after ordering thousands of federal immigration agents to the state in an operation that Walz and other local leaders have characterized as a lawless invasion.
Also Read: White House: Trump does not want to see people killed on US streets
Trump, for his part, has spent the past month accusing Walz of incompetence for failing to stop a welfare-fraud scandal in the state.
The fatal shooting of a 37-year-old nurse, Alex Pretti, on Jan. 24 by immigration agents - the second U.S. citizen killed in the state by federal officers this month - has prompted a sharp public backlash and opinion polls show waning support for Trump's approach to immigration.
Walz's office said the two men had a "productive call" in which Trump said he would consider reducing the number of immigration agents in the state. He said Trump also agreed to talk with the Department of Homeland Security to ensure the state could conduct its own investigation into the shooting.
STATE OFFICIALS ASK JUDGE TO STOP IMMIGRATION SURGE
Trump said he would dispatch the White House border czar, Tom Homan, to work with local officials following Jan. 24's shooting by immigration agents during a confrontation with protesters in Minneapolis. While other top Trump officials have characterized Pretti as a "domestic terrorist," Homan has not publicly spoken about the incident.
In a statement, Trump said Homan "has not been involved" in the Minnesota crackdown "but knows and likes many of the people there."
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump is demanding that Minnesota turn over people in its jail system who are in the country illegally - a policy Walz says the state already is doing - and enlist local police to help with immigration enforcement. That second demand might be more contentious, as state officials say the crackdown is endangering public safety and stretching their resources thin.
Trump's statements came as state officials pressed a U.S. judge to temporarily stop the surge of 3,000 immigration agents, which they characterized as a tactic to pressure the state to change its immigration policies.
"They put violence into the streets of Minnesota to get what they want," Brian Carter, a lawyer with the state attorney general's office, told U.S. Judge Katherine Menendez.
Trump administration lawyers argued they were simply enforcing immigration laws.
Menendez, an appointee of Democratic President Joe Biden, appeared skeptical of the state's argument that she had the power to shut down the operation.
"One of the things I'm struggling with is that not all crises have a fix from a district court injunction," she said toward the end of the three-hour hearing. She did not say when she would issue a ruling.
Another federal judge is due later in the day to consider a separate request by the state to force the administration to preserve evidence from Pretti's killing. That includes footage from body-worn cameras at the scene, according to a government court filing.
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