DHS: Two federal agents fired during encounter that killed Alex Pretti

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two federal agents fired shots during the encounter that killed ICU nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, a Customs and Border Protection official told Congress in a notice sent Tuesday.

Officers tried to detain Pretti and he resisted, leading to a fight, according to a congressional notice obtained by The News. During the struggle, a Border Patrol agent yelled, “He has a gun!” several times, the official said.

A Border Patrol officer and a CBP officer each fired Glock pistols, according to the notice.

Investigators with CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility conducted the analysis based on a review of body camera footage and agency documentation, according to the notice. The agency is required by law to report deaths in CBP custody to relevant congressional committees within 72 hours.

The notification came a day after President Donald Trump ordered border czar Tom Homan to take charge of his administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota following Pretti’s death, which was the second shooting death this month of a person at the hands of immigration authorities.

Meanwhile, Ecuador’s Foreign Minister filed a protest at the U.S. Embassy after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents attempted to enter the Ecuadorian consulate in Minneapolis without permission on Tuesday.

A video of the attempt on social media shows a consulate employee running to the door to wave off ICE agents, telling them, “This is the Ecuadorian consulate. You are not allowed in.” An ICE officer can be heard responding by threatening to “grab” the employee if he touched the agent before agreeing to leave.

International law generally prohibits law enforcement authorities from entering foreign consulates or embassies without permission, although permission can sometimes be assumed to be granted in life-threatening emergencies such as fires.

“Consulate officials immediately prevented the ICE officer from entering the consular building, thus guaranteeing the protection of the Ecuadorians who were present at that time and activating the emergency protocols issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility,” the ministry wrote in X.

A “note of protest” was submitted to the US Embassy in Ecuador so that similar attempts are not made at other consulates, the ministry said. The State Department, Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

AP Photo/Adam Gray

Trump says ‘major investigation’ into Pretti murder underway

By sending Homan to Minnesota, “we’re going to de-escalate a little bit,” Trump said during an interview on News’ “Will Cain Show.” This is significant since White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, when questioned repeatedly on Monday about sending Homan to Minnesota, refused to say that doing so was an effort to calm the situation.

The president added of Homan: “Tom, as tough as he is, gets along well” with governors and mayors, even in Democratic areas.

As he left the White House on Tuesday, the president was asked if the killing of Alex Pretti on Saturday was justified. He responded by saying that a “major investigation” was underway. In the hours after Pretti’s death, some administration officials attempted to blame the shooting on the 37-year-old intensive care nurse.

Trump said in an interview broadcast Tuesday that he had “great calls” with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey on Monday, mirroring comments he made immediately after the calls.

The apparently softer tone came as immigration agents were still active in the Twin Cities region and it was unclear whether officials had changed tactics following the White House shift.

Walz’s office said Tuesday that the Democratic governor met with Homan and called for impartial investigations into shootings involving federal agents. They agreed on the need to continue dialogue, according to the governor.

Frey and Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said they also met with Homan and had a “productive conversation.” The mayor added that city leaders would continue negotiating with the border czar.

Homan posted on social media that the discussions “were a productive starting point.” Homan said he, Walz, Frey, top law enforcement officials and all agree that “we need to support our law enforcement officers and get criminals off the streets.”

The White House had attempted to blame Democratic leaders for protests over the immigration raids. But after Pretti’s murder and videos suggesting he was not an active threat, the administration turned to Homan to take charge of the Minnesota operation instead of Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino.

Trump says of sending Bovino to Minneapolis: “maybe it wasn’t right here.”

Trump said Bovino, the go-to architect for the president’s large-scale, city-by-city immigration crackdown, was “very good,” but added that “he’s a pretty outgoing guy” and “maybe he wasn’t good here.”

The immigration enforcement activity witnessed by journalists in Minneapolis and surrounding suburbs on Tuesday seemed comparable to that of recent weeks. As before, most did not result in major confrontations with officers. Activists say they continue to monitor enforcement operations through social media and chats on messaging apps.

In Texas, a federal judge issued a temporary order barring the removal of a five-year-old Ecuadorian boy and his father who were detained last week in Minnesota in an incident that further exacerbated divisions over immigration under the Trump administration. Federal Judge Fred Biery ruled Monday that any removal or transfer of Liam Conejo Ramos, 5, and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, is on hold while the court case proceeds.

Federal immigration authorities on Tuesday released an Ecuadorian man whose detention led the chief federal judge in Minnesota to order the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to appear in his courtroom, the man’s attorney said.

Attorney Graham Ojala-Barbour said the man, identified in court documents as “Juan TR,” was released in Texas. The lawyer said in an email to The News that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minneapolis notified him in an email that his client had been released.

In an order dated Monday, Chief Judge Patrick J. Schiltz expressed frustration with the Trump administration’s handling of Juan and others’ immigration cases. He took the extraordinary step of ordering Todd Lyons, acting director of ICE, to appear in person in his courtroom on Friday.

Schiltz had said in his order that he would cancel Lyons’ appearance if the man was released.

“This Court has been extremely patient with defendants, even though defendants decided to send thousands of agents to Minnesota to detain aliens without taking any steps to deal with the hundreds of habeas petitions and other lawsuits that would surely result,” he wrote.

Schiltz’s order followed a hearing in federal court Monday on a request by the state and the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul for a judge to halt increased enforcement of immigration laws. The judge in that case said she would prioritize the ruling, but did not give a timeline for making a decision.

Schiltz wrote that he recognizes that ordering the head of a federal agency to appear in person is extraordinary. “But the scope of ICE’s violation of court orders is equally extraordinary, and lesser measures have been attempted and failed,” he said.

The News left messages Tuesday with ICE and a DHS spokesperson seeking a response.

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Catalini reported from Trenton, New Jersey and Karnowski from Minneapolis. News writer Tim Sullivan in Minneapolis contributed to this report.