US President Donald Trump's border czar Tom Homan said Thursday the president had acknowledged the need for improvements in immigration operations after the killing of two protesters by federal agents in Minneapolis – even as he vowed to press ahead with the controversial mission.
"President Trump and I, along with others in the administration, have recognised that certain improvements could and should be made. That's exactly what I'm doing here," he told reporters after the deaths in the northern city of Minneapolis.
Homan was speaking for the first time since the president sent him to Minneapolis to calm furious protests over the killing by federal agents of 37-year-old nurse Alex Pretti.
The border czar said federal agents were trying to act professionally but added: "If they don't, they'll be dealt with like any other federal agency. We have standards of conduct."
Pretti, an intensive care unit nurse, was shot multiple times on Saturday after being forced to the ground by camouflaged officers in a scuffle captured on video. His death came just weeks after federal agents shot dead fellow Minneapolis resident Renée Good.
"We're going to make sure we do targeted enforcement operations and I'll say it again: we are not surrendering our mission at all. We're just doing it smarter," Homan told the news conference.
"President Trump wants this fixed. And I'm going to fix it – with your help," he added.
Homan said immigration enforcement would reduce the number of officers in Minnesota but suggested this would happen only after "cooperation" from state officials.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and AP)
