Trump calls on Minnesota to allow ICE raids after fatal Minneapolis shooting

US President Donald Trump has urged Minnesota officials to allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to operate freely, warning that the state would face more severe consequences if it is not cleared of undocumented immigrants.

"Let our ICE patriots do their job! 12,000 illegal alien criminals, many of them violent, have been arrested and taken out of Minnesota," Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social on Friday. He warned that those still in the state would create "something far worse than you are witnessing today."

Trump's comments came hours after a US Border Patrol officer shot and killed an armed individual wanted for "violent assault" during a targeted operation in Minneapolis.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara identified the man as a 37-year-old white American citizen with only traffic violations on record. Authorities said he was believed to be a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry.

Trump said federal agents were deployed to Minnesota because of what he described as "massive monetary fraud, with billions of dollars missing" under Democratic border policies.

He questioned why local police failed to protect federal officers and accused Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz of "inciting insurrection" through their public statements.

Vance, Bondi blame Minnesota officials

US Vice President JD Vance and Attorney General Pam Bondi also placed blame on Minnesota's leadership for the fatal shooting, saying state and city officials refused to cooperate with federal authorities.

"When I visited Minnesota, what the ICE agents wanted more than anything was to work with local law enforcement so that situations on the ground didn't get out of hand," Vance said. He added that Minneapolis leadership "has so far refused to answer those requests."

Bondi told Fox News that the Justice Department sent Governor Walz "a very strong letter" demanding that he "better support President Trump."

She claimed the shooting occurred because Minneapolis officials had declared the city a sanctuary jurisdiction, alleging that undocumented immigrants were drawn there for protection.

Walz responds

Walz, meanwhile, accused officials in the Trump administration of fabricating accounts of a fatal Border Patrol shooting before any investigation had begun.

"Before any investigation is done, you have the most powerful people in the federal government spinning stories … to spin a narrative," Walz told reporters.

He rejected the Department of Homeland Security's version of events, saying video evidence contradicted federal claims.

"Thank God we have video, because, according to DHS, these seven heroic guys took an onslaught of a battalion against them or something," Walz said. "It's nonsense … and it's lies."

Walz also sharply criticised immigration enforcement tactics, calling the actions of ICE agents "horrific cruelty, unprofessional, absolute abomination that is passing for what these ICE agents are doing on our streets."

The governor said he contacted the White House to request the removal of federal agents, whom he said were escalating unrest.

"They were going to cause more chaos," Walz said, adding that he has no confidence in Trump to do "the right thing."