Two U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Border Patrol agents who fired their weapons during a deadly confrontation with Alex Pretti in Minneapolis were placed on administrative leave, the Department of Homeland Security said, a standard procedure following shootings by federal law enforcement.
The agents, who are no longer on field duty pending review, were involved in the Jan. 24 encounter in the city’s Eat Street district that left Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse for the VA, dead. Homeland Security officials have emphasized that administrative leave should not be interpreted as an indication of wrongdoing.
The Pretti shooting is the second fatal incident involving federal immigration agents in Minneapolis this month, following the Jan. 7 death of Renée Good during a separate enforcement action. The events have triggered protests and intensified national debate over immigration operations in the state.
In a notice to Congress, DHS reported that two federal officers — one from Border Patrol and another from Customs and Border Protection — fired their weapons during the encounter that killed Pretti. Federal officials are reviewing body-worn camera footage and other evidence as part of the ongoing investigation.
President Donald Trump has dispatched border enforcement officials to Minneapolis and acknowledged that “no agency is perfect,” signaling possible adjustments to federal operations amid public backlash.
Local authorities and federal agencies continue to investigate the circumstances of the shooting as demonstrations and public scrutiny persist around federal immigration enforcement.
New video from the BBC surfaced on Wednesday showing someone identified as Pretti tangling with ICE agents about two weeks before his death. The video shows him confronting agents who were blocking a street, spitting towards them, then kicking out one of the tail lights of their vehicle. Agents then exit the SUV and take him to the ground but they don’t arrest him.
Meanwhile, a federal appeals court on Monday handed a major victory to the Trump administration, overturning a lower court order that had restricted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from using standard enforcement tactics during violent protests in Minnesota.
A three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted a full stay of U.S. District Judge Kate Menendez’s injunction, which had temporarily barred federal agents from detaining, pepper-spraying, or otherwise engaging with protesters in Minneapolis without probable cause.
The panel said it reviewed the same video footage cited by the lower court and came to a very different conclusion. The judges wrote that the videos showed both peaceful and aggressive conduct among protesters, and also showed federal agents responding appropriately to a wide range of situations.
The ruling allows ICE and Department of Homeland Security officers to resume full enforcement operations in Minneapolis as part of Operation Metro Surge, the Trump administration’s ongoing crackdown on criminal illegal aliens in the Twin Cities region.
The case originated from a civil rights lawsuit filed by six protesters who claimed ICE and DHS agents violated their First and Fourth Amendment rights during street confrontations earlier this month. Menendez, an appointee of former President Biden, sided with the plaintiffs on January 16 and issued an injunction severely limiting ICE’s ability to respond to protesters and so-called “observers.”
In her order, Menendez cited alleged incidents in which federal agents used pepper spray, conducted traffic stops, or made arrests of individuals she claimed were peacefully observing immigration operations.
The appeals court found that the lower court failed to account for the violent and obstructive behavior documented in multiple videos, including protesters blocking roadways, surrounding federal vehicles, and attempting to interfere with ongoing arrests.
The three-judge panel said that law enforcement officers must retain reasonable discretion to respond to unpredictable and escalating threats, adding that the district court’s restrictions were unworkable and dangerous.
The Department of Justice, which filed an emergency appeal last week, hailed the ruling as a critical affirmation of the federal government’s authority to carry out immigration enforcement.