U.S. immigration 2 min read

After Alex Pretti's death in Minneapolis, Trump's strategy of tension comes under scrutiny

Author: user avatar Editors Desk Source: LeMonde
Protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the streets of downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 25, 2026. ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP
Protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the streets of downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 25, 2026. ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP

The American president has tried to persuade public opinion that Democrats and protesters were to blame for the violence caused by his immigration policy. The largest city in Minnesota, where federal agents killed a second person on Saturday, has become his testing ground.

By  (New York (United States) correspondent)

Nothing was happening in Minneapolis, Minnesota, before the arrival of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). That is important to remember when describing what has been happening there in recent days: a social experiment led by the Trump administration aiming to push a city to its breaking point.

The death of Alex Pretti on Saturday, January 24, killed by a Border Patrol agent, came two weeks after the death of Renee Good, who was killed by an ICE agent under similar circumstances. The tragic deaths of these two Americans, both 37 years old, were a direct result of the federal anti-immigration operation "Metro Surge," which has plunged this major city in the northern United States into a state of terror and outrage.

The day after the tragedy that claimed the life of Pretti, an intensive care nurse who worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs, residents of the city once again braved the bitter cold to gather in large numbers and pay their respects at the spot where he was shot dead on the ground. Meanwhile, footage of the incident spread across the country. The images were shockingly violent and contradicted the official version put forward by the Trump administration, which described the event as the act of a "domestic terrorist" who "wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement."

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