Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has urged US President Donald Trump to pull "untrained" ICE agents out of his state after the killing of Alex Pretti, the second US citizen to be killed by ICE this month.
"Minnesota believes in law and order. We believe in peace," Walz said on X on Sunday.
"And we believe that Trump needs to pull his 3,000 untrained agents out of Minnesota before they kill another American in the street," he added.
During a press briefing, he posed a question directly to the president: "What's the plan, Donald Trump?"
"What do we need to do to get these federal agents out of our state?"
Trump has repeatedly amplified the racially tinged accusations, including on Sunday when he posted on his Truth Social platform: "Minnesota is a Criminal COVER UP of the massive Financial Fraud that has gone on!"
Pretti, an intensive care unit nurse, was seen filming a federal enforcement operation on his phone before trying to help up another civilian who was shoved by agents.
Agents then wrestled him to the ground and fatally shot him multiple times.
ICE insists that Pretti was armed, although he wasn't seen trying to draw any weapon in videos circulating online.
Pretti's killing further inflamed tensions, sparking street clashes between protesters and law enforcement.
Protesters also held a vigil for Pretti at the site where he was showered by ICE agents' bullets.
'Wake-up call'
Former US President Barack Obama and first lady, Michelle Obama, released a joint statement condemning the killing of Pretti.
"The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault," they said.
The Obamas acknowledged that federal law enforcement and immigration agents have a difficult job but said Americans expect those duties to be carried out lawfully, in an accountable way and in coordination with state and local officials.
"That's not what we're seeing in Minnesota," the statement said.
"For weeks now, people across the country have been rightly outraged by the spectacle of masked ICE recruits and other federal agents acting with impunity and engaging in tactics that seem designed to intimidate, harass, provoke and endanger the residents of a major American city," they said.
The Obamas added that these tactics had now resulted in the fatal shootings of two US citizens, both in Minneapolis.
"Yet rather than trying to impose some semblance of discipline and accountability over the agents they’ve deployed, the President and current administration officials seem eager to escalate the situation while offering public explanations for the shootings of Mr Pretti and Renee Good that aren’t informed by any serious investigation—and that appear to be directly contradicted by video evidence."
They also said that Americans "should support and draw inspiration from the wave of peaceful protests in Minneapolis and other parts of the country."
"They are a timely reminder that ultimately, it's up to each of us as citizens to speak out against injustice, protect our basic freedoms and hold our government accountable."
