Trump vows to 'de-escalate' after fatal ICE shootings in Minnesota spark national outrage
The US president has faced nationwide outrage after his immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, Minnesota, led to ICU nurse Alex Pretti, 37, being shot dead by federal agents on Saturday
Donald Trump has said he is "going to de-escalate a little bit" in Minnesota after two fatal ICE shootings have taken place in the state this month.
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The US president has faced nationwide outrage after his immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, Minnesota, led to ICU nurse Alex Pretti, 37, being shot dead by federal agents on Saturday.
The ICU nurse became the second US citizen to be killed in Minneapolis in the last three weeks after mother-of-three Renee Good was shot dead earlier this month.
Read more: Kristi Noem 'fighting to keep job' after Alex Pretti death
The killings have sparked mass protests in the city and led the President to remove Gregory Bovino, the Border Patrol commander and face of his immigration enforcement operation, from the state, along with several agents.
He will be replaced by White House border czar Tom Homan, who will now lead the crackdown.
Trump said the recent killings were "terrible", but his position was not "a pullback" but "a little bit of change".
"You shake up your team, if they can't do the crops fast enough... we have an incredible team," he told reporters as he made his way to a rally in Clive, Iowa.
As Trump spoke to supporters on Tuesday, it emerged that two federal officers had fired shots during their encounter with Mr Pretti before he was killed.
It was initially thought that one agent had fired his weapon, but a notice from the US Department of Homeland Security to Congress stated that one Border Patrol officer fired his Glock and a Customs Border Protection (CBP) officer also fired their weapon.
Federal officials had said Pretti had approached agents with a weapon, but footage has since revealed he was holding a phone.
Democratic House leaders have called on the President to fire Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem over the immigration crackdown, with some even threatening to impeach her if she is not removed.
These concerns were echoed by two Republicans senators - Thom Tillis and Lisa Murkowski - who both publicly said Noem should go.
But Trump has repeatedly said he stands by Noem, having been reluctant in the past to fire senior officials who were under pressure from critics.
The Democrats would struggle to get an impeachment vote passed, due to being a minority in the House.
Even if they were to succeed in convincing a handful of Republicans to side with them, there wouldn't be nearly enough votes in the Senate to convict and remove Noem.
Earlier today, District Judge Patrick Shiltz ordered Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons to appear in court to explain why his agency has failed to hold a bond hearing for an immigration detainee in the court-ordered timeframe.
The District of Minnesota Court outlines that an immigrant detainee was granted a petition order on January 14.
They say the detainee should have been provided a bond hearing within seven days.
If this hearing fails to materialise within the allotted time, the court says, then the petitioner "must be immediately released from detention".
A federal judge also issued a temporary order banning the removal of a five-year-old boy and his father who were detained in Minnesota last week.
The incident was another lightning rod of division in the US during the recent unrest in Minnesota.
US Judge Fred Biery ruled on Monday that any removal or transfer of five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, is on hold while a court case proceeds.
The father and son are now at a family detention facility in Dilley, Texas.