Trump Says He’s on ‘Similar Wavelength’ With Minnesota Gov. Walz

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump said he had a “very good” phone call on Jan. 26 with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and that the two leaders are on a “similar wavelength” amid unrest in Minneapolis, tied to recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection operations.

The call followed the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti on Jan. 24 by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Minneapolis. Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI are jointly investigating the incident, alongside an internal CBP review.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Pretti was shot after “brandishing” a firearm, but critics have characterized the shooting as murder.

The incident occurred just weeks after another fatal shooting in Minneapolis, in which ICE officers killed Renee Good after she allegedly attempted to run over an agent with her vehicle.

In a post on Truth Social on Jan. 26, Trump said White House border czar Tom Homan would travel to Minnesota and remain in contact with Walz. In a separate post, Trump said Homan would report directly to him. The president also said he and Walz plan to speak again “in the near future.”

Walz’s office described the call as “productive.”

“The governor made the case that we need impartial investigations of the Minneapolis shootings involving federal agents, and that we need to reduce the number of federal agents in Minnesota,” Walz’s office stated.

In another post on Truth Social, Trump said he also talked with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey in what the president said was “a very good” conversation. Trump said Homan will meet with Frey.

In a Jan. 25 Truth Social post, Trump called on Walz and Frey—along with Democratic governors and mayors nationwide—to take several actions related to immigration enforcement.

Trump’s demands included transferring “criminal illegal aliens” currently held in state prisons and local jails to federal authorities for immediate deportation, as well as turning over illegal immigrants arrested by local police.

He also called for increased cooperation between local and federal law enforcement in arresting and detaining illegal immigrants wanted for crimes, and he urged Democratic leaders to work with the federal government to expedite the removal of criminal offenders from the United States.

During the Jan. 26 White House press briefing, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration does not want to see loss of life.

“Nobody in the White House, including President Trump, wants to see people getting hurt or killed in America’s streets,” Leavitt said.

“This includes Renee Good, Alex Pretti, the brave men and women of federal law enforcement, and the many Americans who have been victimized at the hands of illegal alien criminals.”

Leavitt said she has not heard that Trump has agreed to release footage from the body cameras of the federal officers involved in the shooting of Pretti. She also said that the administration is in discussions with Congress about requiring federal agents to wear body cameras.

Leavitt emphasized that the administration does not want the Pretti incident to jeopardize congressional efforts to fund the government. She reiterated White House support for the bipartisan appropriations package under consideration in Congress and urged lawmakers to pass it without allowing immigration policy debates to imperil broader government funding.

“We absolutely do not want to see that funding lapse,” Leavitt said, citing essential programs—such as Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance for communities still recovering from the weekend’s severe winter storm—that could be affected if a funding impasse occurs.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.