From total defense to retreat: why Trump recalculated his strategy after the death of a nurse in an anti-immigration operation

Immigration policy causes weariness for Donald Trump The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has changed his tone regarding the anti-immigration operation carried out by federal agents in the state of Minnesota. If on Saturday (24) the Republican asked to let the agents “work”, now Trump talks about “reducing tension”. ✅ Follow the g1 international news channel on WhatsApp The change of stance comes after the negative repercussions of Alex Pretti’s death. The 37-year-old nurse was killed by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis on Saturday. The case made news around the world. At first, Trump came out in defense of federal agents and the work of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). At the same time, however, thousands of people took to the streets in different parts of the country to protest against the operations and against the president himself. According to the Wall Street Journal newspaper, the game began to change when Republican Party leaders warned Trump that Pretti’s death and the violence in ICE’s actions could lead to the loss of popular support around their main banner: the fight against illegal immigration. Also according to the newspaper, members of the White House’s top leadership began to assess that the images of Pretti’s death represented a high political risk. The following day, also according to the WSJ, Trump received a message from Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. The parliamentarian warned that the White House needed to find an alternative to the narrative about the nurse’s death. The assessment was that the showing on TV of videos showing the brutality of federal agents against Pretti was eroding the credibility of other actions on the anti-immigration agenda that had been well received by the public. In this context, even pro-gun organizations, traditional allies of Trump, began to criticize statements made by members of the government. The institutions condemned statements by members of the Trump administration who questioned the fact that the nurse was armed during the protest. Pretti had a permit to carry a weapon. Recalculating the route President Donald Trump visits a vehicle assembly plant on January 13, 2026 REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein Publicly, Trump began to change his tone on Sunday night (25). On a social network, he sent messages to the governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz, and the mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, asking for collaboration. On Monday (26), Trump spoke with Walz by phone. The Minnesota government had been the target of recurring criticism from the president. Walz was also a candidate for vice president on Kamala Harris’s ticket in the 2024 elections, defeated by Trump. But the major turning point came Monday night, when Frey announced that the White House had agreed to reduce the number of federal agents in Minneapolis. Shortly afterwards, the American press began reporting that Trump had ordered the relocation of Gregory Bovino, the Border Patrol commander responsible for overseeing the operation in the city, to California. Still trying to control the narrative, the White House stated that Bovino had not been fired and that he continued to be an “important piece” of the president’s agenda. This Tuesday (27), however, the government confirmed the sending of Tom Homan, Trump’s “border czar”, to take command of the operation in Minneapolis. The same day, Homan met with Frey and Walz. A senior Trump administration official told Reuters that Homan intends to move away from large neighborhood search operations and adopt a more traditional approach. Even Stephen Miller, Trump’s top adviser, who had called Pretti a “wannabe assassin,” admitted that immigration agents may have violated “protocol.” Also on Tuesday, Trump expressed condolences to Pretti’s family and stated that he would be “closely following” the investigation into the murder. When asked about statements by government officials that classified Pretti as a domestic terrorist, Trump said: “I haven’t heard that, but he certainly shouldn’t be carrying a gun.” Later, when responding to a question about anti-immigration operations, Trump said he would “reduce the tension a little bit.” READ ALSO Document contradicts the Trump administration and does not indicate that a nurse drew a weapon before being killed in an anti-immigration action, says the newspaper ICE agent tries to invade the Ecuadorian consulate in Minneapolis, USA Deaths in immigration actions lead Republican senator to ask the head of US Homeland Security to leave VIDEOS: most watched on g1

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