USA Trump hints at U-turn in Minneapolis
Under the impression of nationwide protests against his rigorous deportation policy and the brutal actions of heavily armed forces in Minneapolis, US President Donald Trump has indicated a willingness to compromise.
27.01.2026, 05:59
27.01.2026, 06:00
SDA
Following a telephone call with Trump, the mayor of Minneapolis announced that some federal officials would be withdrawn from the large city in the state of Minnesota from Tuesday. According to media reports, following the fatal shooting of another US citizen in Minneapolis, the controversial commander of the Border Patrol, Gregory Bovino, will also be withdrawn from the city.
On Saturday, nurse Alex Pretti was shot dead in the street during an operation by federal officers in the northern US city - although, judging by video footage, he did not appear to pose an acute threat to the forces. This further inflamed anger at Trump's government and the suppression of protests. Critical voices were raised even within the Republican Party, with the Democrats threatening to block the budget.
Following a meeting with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz - a Democrat like Mayor Frey - Trump's government announced that hardliner Tom Homan would in future oversee the deployment of thousands of federal officials to Minneapolis. The former interim head of the immigration authority ICE has long been entrusted with overseeing Trump's deportation policy.
Trump must fear "shutdown"
Trump's superficial concession could be explained by the fact that he himself is dependent on the opposition's willingness to compromise. The Democrats took up the wave of protest on the streets and are now taking it to the US parliament: they are threatening to only approve a legislative package for the budget if budget funds for the migration authorities are excluded. They want to block funding for deportation raids for the time being.
As the US transition budget expires on Friday, the clock is ticking for Trump and his Republicans. If there is no agreement with the Democrats, large parts of government business would come to a standstill once again. There was already such a shutdown from October to November last year - it went down as the longest in US history.
Commander in an eye-catching coat
According to the media, the imminent departure of the controversial commander of the Border Patrol would mean that perhaps the best-known face of the martial deportation operations would be removed from the spotlight. Bovino had called federal agents "victims" after Pretti's death and also showed little sense of injustice in the case of the fatal shooting of US citizen Renée Good by an ICE officer in the same city in early January. His rigorous demeanor, along with an eye-catching coat, led critics to draw comparisons to Nazi methods and the infamous Gestapo. Bovino rejected this.
According to reports by the US broadcasters CNN and CBS News, the change in strategy that has now been announced also affects officers from Bovino's Border Patrol. In his account of the phone call with Trump, Minneapolis Mayor Frey did not give any details on how many federal officers are to be withdrawn from the region. However, he made it clear that he would work to ensure that more follow. "The president agreed that the current situation cannot continue," Frey wrote on Platform X. He will meet with Homan on Tuesday to discuss further steps.
Government spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt had given an ambiguous answer on Monday when asked by journalists whether Bovino would remain in Minnesota. He is an "outstanding professional" and will continue to lead Border Patrol agents across the country, she said. Later, the deputy head of the Department of Homeland Security denied media reports that Bovino had been relieved of his duties entirely. A few hours earlier, Trump had announced that he was sending Homan to Minnesota.
Nationwide outrage at Trump's government
In Minneapolis, outrage at the US government is particularly high, with the case of Renée Good and Alex Pretti's death having deeply shaken the city. However, the brutal actions of masked police officers, who drag people off the streets and into cars in Democratic-ruled cities and even take small children with them, have caused outrage across the country and beyond the USA in recent months. The Trump administration has been accused of undermining the democratic right to peaceful protest.
Against this backdrop, Trump's spokeswoman Leavitt tried to give the impression that Trump wanted to clear up the Pretti case transparently and let the facts speak for themselves. However, as the US government and its subordinate authorities under Trump are repeatedly spreading false claims or at least selectively reproducing the truth, many no longer believe their accounts.
Federal authorities want to investigate the case themselves
Minnesota's government is also criticizing the fact that the investigation into Pretti's death is not to be conducted by the local authorities, but by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and a law enforcement agency within the US Department of Homeland Security. The state obtained a temporary restraining order from a court to prevent important evidence from being destroyed or altered.
The government had been quick to portray the fatal shooting as a legitimate act of self-defense after the fact, although video footage of the incident gives a different impression. Trump pointed out that Pretti had been carrying a loaded gun and two additional magazines. When asked by reporters if the president would call Pretti a "domestic terrorist," as Trump's deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller had done, Leavitt replied, "I have not heard the president characterize Mr. Pretti that way."
