As federal immigration tactics face mounting 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 was dispatching 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 it launched Operation Metro Surge in December, Trump signaled Monday that he could be shifting strategy as he deploys Homan to the region.

“He has not been involved in that area, but knows and likes many of the people there,” Trump said of Homan on Truth Social. “Tom is tough but fair, and will report directly to me.”

In a sign that the Trump administration may be questioning its hard-line immigration approach in Minneapolis, Bovino and some federal agents are expected to leave the city as early as Tuesday, a source told the Associated Press.

Muzaffar Chishti — an attorney and immigration policy expert at the Migration Policy Institute, a Washington-based think tank — said no one knows what Trump will do next, but Homan’s arrival in Minnesota marks a significant shift in the balance of power in the administration’s immigration enforcement efforts.

“There was a big rift here between seasoned ICE officers and these new troopers,” Chishti said. “This may become the moment where things begin to change, if not fully reverse. I would be surprised if we don’t see some change.”

Trump said Monday that he had a “very good call” with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who called on the president this weekend to “pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota.”

“We, actually, seemed to be on a similar wavelength,” Trump wrote on TruthSocial.

“I told Governor Walz that I would have Tom Homan call him, and that what we are looking for are any and all Criminals that they have in their possession,” Trump added. “The Governor, very respectfully, understood that... He was happy that Tom Homan was going to Minnesota, and so am I!”

Walz’s office described the call as “productive,” noting that Trump agreed to talk to Homeland Security officials about enabling the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to conduct an independent investigation into the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti.

“The President also agreed to look into reducing the number of federal agents in Minnesota and working with the state in a more coordinated fashion on immigration enforcement regarding violent criminals,” Walz’s office said.

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

The Department of Homeland Security said Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse, approached federal officers on the street Saturday morning with a 9-millimeter semiautomatic handgun and “violently resisted” when officers tried to disarm him. But cellphone videos recorded by eyewitnesses contradict that account.

According to videos taken on the scene, Pretti was holding a phone, not a handgun, when he stepped in front of a federal agent who had shoved a woman to the ground. The agent shoved and pepper sprayed him and then multiple agents forced him to the ground. In the middle of the scrum, an agent secured a handgun. Less than a second later, the first shot was fired.

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

At a briefing in Washington on Monday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Department of Homeland Security and FBI were investigating the shooting and U.S. Customs and Border Protection was also conducting its own internal review.

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem drew criticism this weekend for asserting, without evidence, that Pretti committed “an act of domestic terrorism” and saying that her agency would lead the investigation into his killing.

Asked if Trump agreed with Noem and Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller that Pretti was a domestic terrorist, Leavitt said she had “not heard the president characterize Mr. Pretti in that way.”

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

On Monday, Pence, a Republican who served during Trump’s first term, described images of the shooting as “deeply troubling.”

“A full and transparent investigation of this officer involved shooting must take place immediately,” Pence wrote on X. “The focus now should be to bring together law enforcement at every level to address the concerns in the community even while ensuring that dangerous illegal aliens are apprehended and no longer a threat to families in Minneapolis.”

Until now, Bovino has been the public face of immigration enforcement in Minneapolis, but Leavitt said Monday that Homan would now be “the main point of contact on the ground” and Bovino would “very much continue to lead” the Border Patrol.

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

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

But some Democrats in Minnesota oppose sending Homan to the state. Minneapolis City Council member Soren Stevenson said the move would only heighten tension.

“They are losing the battle in people’s minds,” Stevenson told CNN, noting that people could see video evidence contradict federal accounts of Border Patrol agents’ actions.

“They’re losing this narrative battle, and so he’s sending in his top guard,” Stevenson added. “And really, 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 under … and it’s got to stop.”

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

“I don’t like any shooting. I don’t like it,” Trump said. “But I don’t like it when somebody goes into a protest and he’s got a very powerful, fully loaded gun with two magazines loaded up with bullets also. That doesn’t play good either.”

The president declined to comment on whether the agents who shot Pretti had done the right thing. “We’re looking,” Trump said when pressed. “We’re reviewing everything and will come out with a determination.”

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

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

Meanwhile in California, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) said on Monday that state legislators are working on new legislation to hold the federal government and ICE agents accountable.

“It seems like our very right to life is under attack,” said Rivas, speaking at a joint news conference with Democratic legislators held to show solidarity with Minnesota. “To the people and leaders of Minneapolis, please hear this clearly: California stands with you.”

Rivas said it was time for Congress to stand up for the American people, even if that meant shutting down the federal government. He urged Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to lead with strength or step aside.

California has already enacted new laws in response to the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration raids, including one banning federal officers from wearing masks during enforcement duties. The U.S. Department of Justice is suing California over the measures.

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(Times staff writer Katie King contributed to this report.)

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