US President Donald Trump appears to be trying to de-escalate the chaotic situation in Minneapolis, where federal agents have killed two American citizens who were protesting against immigration enforcement operations.
The Trump administration has for weeks attacked Minnesota officials and Governor Tim Walz, accusing them of raising tension by refusing to co-operate with federal authorities as they sweep through frozen streets and arrest suspected migrants.
But Mr Trump sounded a more conciliatory tone on Monday, the same day a Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 58 per cent of Americans think his immigration crackdown has gone too far, the highest level since his return to the White House.
Mr Trump said he held a positive phone call with Mr Walz and said the two were in general agreement.
“Governor Tim Walz called me with the request to work together with respect to Minnesota. It was a very good call and we actually seemed to be on a similar wavelength,” Mr Trump said on Truth Social.
On Saturday, nurse Alex Pretti, 37, was shot dead by immigration agents, igniting more protests in Minnesota and prompting renewed scrutiny over Mr Trump's hardline anti-immigration effort.
Homeland Security Department officials accused Mr Pretti of being a “terrorist” who attacked agents with a handgun. They said officers acted in self-defence.
But video from the scene seemed to contradict that account. Footage showed Mr Pretti holding a mobile phone as agents wrestled him to the ground.
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A federal law enforcement officer sprays irritants at Alex Pretti before he was fatally shot by federal agents during an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Saturday. Reuters -
A law enforcement officer pins down Mr Pretti, before he was fatally shot. Reuters -
Mr Pretti was fatally shot by US immigration agents as they tried to detain him in Minneapolis. Reuters -
People gather for an evening vigil in Whittier Park, a few blocks from the site where Mr Pretti was fatally shot. EPA -
A photograph of the pistol recovered by immigration agents after the shooting in Minneapolis, shown on a screen behind US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, at the Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters. AFP -
A woman cries at a makeshift memorial in the area where Mr Pretti, 37, was shot dead. AFP -
A federal agent fires a munition toward demonstrators near the site where Mr Pretti was shot. Reuters -
Federal agents walk through a massive cloud of teargas near the site where Mr Pretti was shot. Reuters
It later seemed to show officers removing a handgun that was stored on his body, before shooting him several times.
Earlier this month, an agent killed Renee Nicole Good, 37, a mother of three, after a brief confrontation while she was in her car in Minneapolis.
Mr Trump on Monday also said he would send White House border official Tom Homan to work with local authorities, saying he had not been previously been involved in the area and is “tough but fair".
The move prompted questions over whether Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem would remain in her job. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Ms Noem, “still has the utmost confidence and trust of the President of the United States".
Ms Leavitt called Saturday's shooting a “tragedy” but blamed it on the “deliberate and hostile resistance” by Democrat leaders who have been impeding the work of immigration enforcement.
“President Trump will never back down from his promise to deport violent criminal illegal aliens and make America safe again, and he welcomes all co-operation in that effort,” Ms Leavitt told reporters.
She said Mr Trump is demanding that Minnesota officials hand over records of people who are in the country illegally, and for local police to assist in their detention.
Mr Trump has made battling illegal immigration a major focus of his second term, after running on a campaign to conduct the largest deportation programme in the nation's history.
He has sent thousands of federal agents to liberal cities across the country. Residents are taking to the streets in protest, sometimes filming masked and camouflaged agents as they search and detains suspected migrants.
Community organisations and neighbourhood social media groups have also been circulating alerts to notify residents when agents are near.
The tension in Minnesota has reverberated in Washington, and led to a renewed likelihood of a partial government shutdown that could begin on Sunday.
Democrats in the Senate said they would oppose a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security.
