Minnesota Governor Calls for ICE Withdrawal Following Nurse's Death

7 hours ago 3

January 26, 2026 | 01:25 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz, has urged President Donald Trump to withdraw the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from his state. As reported by Al Jazeera on Sunday, this demand came after a Border Patrol agent killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care unit (ICU) nurse at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Minneapolis.

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in a city park, in freezing weather, chanting slogans against federal officers and urging them to leave.

Pretti's family, including his parents Michael and Susan, released a statement saying they were "heartbroken but also very angry," describing their son as a kind-hearted soul.

U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi has written a lengthy letter to Walz, accusing the governor of refusing to "enforce the law" and alleging that politicians in Minnesota, from the Democratic Party, are endangering the lives of immigration agents through the criticism of their activities in their state.

Kristi Noem, head of the Department of Homeland Security, told Fox News that the president has been considering using the Insurrection Act, which would allow him to use the military domestically.

U.S. Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino said that all federal agents present when Alex Pretti was shot yesterday are still on duty, but not in Minneapolis, a decision made "for their safety."

Concerns of Minnesota Residents

Democratic Party strategist Arshad Hasan said the killing of Alex Pretti and its aftermath are "horrifying." He accused federal agents of turning a low-crime city into an "occupation."

"ICE killed the first person in Minneapolis [Renee Good], and now, there’s a second person [Alex Pretti] that they’ve murdered. This is how I see it," he told Al Jazeera.

Hasan said the community is "grieving" and feeling "besieged," but also coming together to "protect their neighbors."

"I don’t know why a government agency should get particular exemptions from due process when somebody is murdered… Homicide is a crime for which the state and local law enforcement have jurisdiction," he said, urging accountability and a "different way forward."

Across the U.S. political spectrum, Americans are becoming more skeptical and vigilant about Trump's immigration enforcement tactics.

"The rest of the country needs to know that what’s happening here could happen everywhere," said Eric Gray, a 50-year-old Minneapolis resident.

"I think that Minnesota is turning out to be the starting point, or the litmus test."

Read: ICE Agents Shoot Nurse Dead in Minneapolis

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