Students protest against ICE during a walkout at the University of Minnesota on January 26, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. BRANDON BELL / AFP
President Donald Trump sent his top border enforcer to Minneapolis on Monday, January 26, and struck a conciliatory note in a bid to tamp down nationwide outrage over the second killing of a US citizen protesting militarized immigration raids this month.
The White House was scrambling as video of the latest shooting went viral, prompting street protests, criticism from former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama and, increasingly, from within Trump's Republican Party. Trump said that Tom Homan, his point man for border security, "will report directly to me." Homan's dispatch appeared to be an acknowledgement that the administration has run into political damage, with polls showing a majority of Americans disapprove of the often brutal crackdown by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
Trump said he held a "very good" talk with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, a Democrat whom he has repeatedly blamed for allowing illegal immigration and corruption. "We, actually, seemed to be on a similar wavelength," Trump posted on social media, in a marked shift of tone.
