The President of the United States, Donald Trump, announced on Monday that he will urgently send Tom Homan, his immigration czar, to Minnesota. Homan is a hawk, the enforcer of deportation and border closure policies, and a staunch believer in a tough approach. However, he is also a politically influential figure, so the decision has been seen by analysts as a recognition that border patrols and ICE had lost control of the situation and that a change is necessary. Perhaps not in strategy, but in tactics. Starting with replacing Gregory Bovino, who has become the face of repression and abuses by federal agencies.
"Bovino is a wonderful man and a great professional. He is determined to continue the work of Customs and Border Protection nationwide. Homan will be the main point of contact on the ground in Minneapolis," the White House announced at noon. It is expected that he will leave the city, along with his top advisors, in the coming hours.
Surveys show a significant drop in the President's popularity and support for his policies, including immigration. More and more Republican officials are beginning to speak out against ICE actions and methods, warning of the immense damage, especially in an election year, of what is happening. Just this Monday, Chris Madel, a conservative lawyer who ran in the Republican primaries to be the next governor of Minnesota, announced his withdrawal, criticizing the Government and his own political party.
"I cannot support the retaliation that Republicans at the national level intend to exercise against the citizens of our state," he explained, "nor can I consider myself a member of a party that would do such a thing," he emphasized after two deaths, one gunshot wound, and countless irregularities, especially involving minors and vulnerable individuals. "Republicans at the national level have made it practically impossible for a Republican to win a state election in Minnesota," he stated in a viralized video.
All of this is starting to take its toll, after a desperate weekend in which the Government tried to convince the population that what they had seen on video, from every possible angle, had not happened. They even irritated their most radical supporters on the issue of firearms by suggesting that carrying a pistol legally was a problem and justified the excessive actions of the agents.
The proof of all this is the summary that Trump himself made of his conversation with the Governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz, one of the national figures he despises the most. Walz was the Democratic candidate for vice president in 2024 and his direct rival in the elections. Trump has been attacking Walz for weeks, insulting him and blaming him for the "chaos in the streets" and the deaths of two protesters. However, today he stated that they had spoken to "work together" and that "it was a very productive conversation and, in fact, we seemed to be on the same page. I told Governor Walz that I would ask Tom Homan to call him and that what we are looking for are all the criminals under his custody. The governor, very kindly, understood it, and I will speak with him soon. He was glad that Tom Homan was going to Minnesota, and so was I! (...) Both Governor Walz and I want to further improve the situation," he wrote on his social media.
The Governor, for his part, is trying to de-escalate the situation as soon as possible while hoping that a federal judge orders a halt to the ICE deployment. Kate M. Menendez is reviewing the case in "unusually difficult times." In the initial hearing, she seemed to think that the state authorities' request was too broad, but she also pressed the Trump Administration's lawyers hard on the reasons for the operation and its methods.
According to Walz, the President has opened up for the first time on Monday to the possibility of cooperating and reducing the number of federal agents in Minneapolis, which outnumber local police by a ratio of 1 to 6. "Governor Walz had a productive conversation with President Trump today. The governor argued that impartial investigations are needed into the Minneapolis shootings involving federal agents, and that it is necessary to reduce the number of federal agents in Minnesota. The President agreed to speak with the Department of Homeland Security to ensure that the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension can conduct an independent investigation, as is customary in these cases. The President also committed to considering reducing the number of federal agents in Minnesota and to working more closely with the state on immigration control, especially regarding violent criminals," explained the office of the Democratic politician.
Both aspects are more than relevant. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt has exposed Gregory Bovino, announcing that Homan will be in charge of operations, but also the head of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, who was marked by repeating easily verifiable falsehoods on camera after the protester's death. The White House stated on Monday that "the Saturday shooting remains under active investigation by Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI," and added that Customs and Border Protection, where the agents who fired at Alex Pretti work, "is also conducting an internal review." A response after immediately justifying the shots.
This correction comes after days of labeling Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, as a "domestic terrorist" and a "killer" who "wanted to cause a massacre." When asked about it, Trump's spokesperson, Karoline Leavitt, significantly toned down the rhetoric, responding to numerous requests from high-ranking Republicans, especially in the Senate. "I have not heard the President characterize Mr. Pretti in that way," she said, referring to the terrorist and killer labels. "Obviously, this has been a very fluid and fast-moving situation," she added, trying to justify and tone down the expressions used by Trump's top advisors.