President Donald Trump said Wednesday that his administration may need to take “a softer touch” in enforcing immigration laws following the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal agents in Minneapolis last month, while stressing that toughness remains necessary.
“We’re dealing with really hard criminals. But look, I’ve called the people. I’ve called the governor. I’ve called the mayor. Spoke to ‘em. Had great conversations with them. And then I see them ranting and raving out there. Literally as though a call wasn’t made.”
The comments come amid a prolonged clash between Trump and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, both Democrats who have sharply criticized the administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement actions in the city and condemned the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both 37, who died in separate incidents in January.
In the immediate aftermath of the shootings, Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and other senior administration officials blamed Good and Pretti, at times portraying them, without evidence, as domestic terrorists.
Subsequent video footage of the encounters contradicted some early claims by administration officials that suggested the shootings were justified. As public scrutiny and national outrage intensified, Trump’s tone began to shift.
Trump and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz
At a White House briefing on Jan. 20, he acknowledged that federal agents “make mistakes sometimes,” a remark that marked a notable change from earlier statements.
Earlier on Wednesday, U.S. border czar Tom Homan announced that 700 federal immigration agents would be withdrawn from Minnesota. When asked by Llamas whether that decision had come directly from him, Trump confirmed that it had, while also offering additional context.
“But it didn’t come from me because I just wanted to do it,” Trump said. “We have, we are waiting for them to release prisoners, give us the murderers that they’re holding, and all of the bad people, drug dealers, all of the bad people.
We allowed in our country, I say, 25 million people with an open-border policy for four years under [President Joe] Biden, and that group, the autopen group, I call them. We are allowed to come into our country, people the likes of whom no country would accept. And we’re getting ‘em out.”
Trump has repeatedly cited the figure of 25 million undocumented immigrants entering the United States during the Biden administration, a claim that is inaccurate. According to data from Customs and Border Protection, approximately 7.4 million undocumented immigrants crossed the border outside of legal ports of entry during that period.
