Sawt Falasteen - US judge to consider bid to halt Minneapolis immigration campaign

Minneapolis has been rocked by increasingly tense protests since Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents fatally shot Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, in her car, on January 7.

On Saturday, ICE agents killed intensive care nurse Alex Pretti, also 37, claiming he intended to harm them during a confrontation.

Thousands of federal immigration agents have been deployed for weeks to the state, after media reports on alleged fraud by Somali immigrants -- which US President Donald Trump has seized upon.

The US District Court for Minnesota will hold hearings in two key lawsuits Monday, as pressure mounts for an independent investigation into the killings.

In one case, Minnesota's attorney general has asked a federal judge to halt the surge of ICE agents to the area.

The other case focuses on stopping federal officials from destroying evidence related to Pretti's killing.

The lawsuits highlight the deep rift between local and federal officials over the ICE deployment, which has put pressure on Trump's aggressive deportation campaign.

Democratic-led Minneapolis is a sanctuary city, meaning police do not cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

Trump, who has vowed to arrest and deport "millions" of undocumented people, quickly defended the ICE agents who fired the shots that killed Good and Pretti, claiming they had intended to harm federal agents.

But he later declined to say whether the officer who shot Pretti had acted appropriately and said his administration was reviewing the incident.

"We're looking, we're reviewing everything and will come out with a determination," Trump told the Wall Street Journal in a brief interview on Sunday.

He said ICE agents would leave Minneapolis "at some point", without giving a timeframe.

Multiple senators from Trump's Republican Party have called for a thorough probe into the killing, and for cooperation with local authorities.

US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, speaking to NBC's "Meet the Press," said an investigation was necessary.

Trump's administration controversially excluded local investigators from a probe into Good's death.

Walz posed a question directly to the president during a press briefing Sunday, asking: "What do we need to do to get these federal agents out of our state?"

- 'Wake-up call' -

On Sunday, business leaders from 60 corporations headquartered in Minnesota -- including retailer Target, food giant General Mills and several professional sports franchises -- signed an open letter "calling for an immediate de-escalation of tensions" and for authorities to work together.

Former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton have issued pointed calls for Americans to stand up and defend their values after the second killing of a citizen in Minneapolis by immigration agents that Trump blamed on Democratic "chaos."

Barack and Michelle Obama said on Sunday that Pretti's shooting should be a "wake-up call" that core US values "are increasingly under assault."

Hours later, Bill Clinton delivered a fierce indictment of the current administration, saying peaceful protesters "have been arrested, beaten, teargassed, and most searingly, in the cases of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, shot and killed."

Trump provocatively attributed Good and Pretti's deaths to Minnesota's Democratic elected officials, including Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, writing on his Truth Social platform: "Democrat run Sanctuary Cities and States are REFUSING to cooperate with ICE."

"Tragically, two American Citizens have lost their lives as a result of this Democrat ensued chaos," he added.

After top officials described Pretti as an "assassin" who had assaulted the agents, Pretti's parents issued a statement Saturday condemning the administration's "sickening lies" about their son.

With tensions high, protesters gathered Sunday in Minneapolis, denouncing ICE. One person held a cardboard sign that read: "Be Pretti, be Good."

E.Aziz--SF-PST