Minneapolis is drowning in chaos after another shooting involving federal agents.
The situation has been deteriorating by the hour.
And Trump just sidelined his own DHS Secretary with one move that has Kristi Noem fuming.
Trump Sends Homan to Clean Up Minnesota Mess
Trump announced Monday he's dispatching Border Czar Tom Homan directly to Minnesota to take control of ICE operations on the ground.
The move bypasses Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem entirely.
"Tom is tough but fair, and will report directly to me," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Homan will manage ICE operations himself and coordinate welfare fraud investigations that uncovered billions in stolen taxpayer money.
The deployment comes after Border Patrol agents shot 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti on Saturday in Minneapolis.
Pretti is the second person killed by federal agents in Minnesota this month.
Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was shot dead by ICE on January 7 after she accelerated her vehicle toward an officer.
Good's case was clear-cut self-defense.
She used her car as a weapon against federal law enforcement.
Pretti's shooting may be a completely different story.
Noem's Botched Response Made Everything Worse
Body camera footage tells a damning story about how Pretti died.
Federal agents were conducting immigration enforcement when a woman was shoved to the ground.
Pretti apparently tried to shield the woman from officers.
An agent pepper-sprayed Pretti in the face.
During the scuffle that followed, Pretti's legally concealed firearm became exposed.
He had a valid permit to carry.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara confirmed Pretti was a lawful gun owner exercising his Second Amendment rights.
One officer removed the weapon from Pretti's waistband holster.
Then a shot went off and agents opened up on Pretti.
Pretti never brandished the gun or threatened anyone with it.
Hours after the shooting, Noem rushed to defend the agents without waiting for the facts.
She claimed Pretti "attacked" officers and was "brandishing" a gun.
Videos show Pretti holding up a phone as the confrontation begins before getting pepper-sprayed.
The weapon only became visible after officers assaulted him with chemical spray.
Noem doubled down at a news conference.
"This looks like a situation where an individual arrived at the scene to inflict maximum damage on individuals and to kill law enforcement," Noem said.
Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino went even further and claimed Pretti may have been intending to "massacre law enforcement."
Both statements proved disastrously wrong when footage emerged.
Kash Patel’s response was even worse.
Gun rights groups erupted.
Conservatives started questioning what really happened after seeing footage of the shooting.
Trump wouldn't answer when The Wall Street Journal asked if shooting Pretti was justified.
That's when he decided to send Homan.
Tensions Between Homan and Noem Boil Over
The Pretti shooting exposed a war between Homan and Noem over immigration enforcement strategy.
Fox News reported in October that the two have been battling for months.
Homan wants ICE focused on deporting illegal aliens with final deportation orders and criminal records.
That's the "worst of the worst" approach that builds public support.
Noem pushed for the opposite strategy.
She wants maximum visibility on deportation operations.
And the question must be asked, if you’re trying to deport large numbers of illegal aliens why hasn’t there been more focus on raiding workplaces where the numbers will be greater and it’s less likely there will be public interference.
Fox News reported that senior immigration enforcement officials are "increasingly uneasy and frustrated" with DHS claims after the shooting.
One DHS source told The Post that Trump turning to Homan is "a bad sign for Noem."
An administration official tried downplaying it by comparing the situation to a Super Bowl team not making trades because of "a few injuries."
Noem's enthusiasm for big splashy operations that generate press coverage may work great for her political brand.
But it's putting ICE agents in impossible situations where anything can happen.
Homan Brings Eisenhower-Style Enforcement
Trump's decision to send Homan mirrors a strategy Eisenhower used in 1954 during Operation Wetback – boy there’s a name would have leftists losing it today.
When immigration enforcement spiraled out of control, Eisenhower appointed Army General Joseph Swing to take direct command.
Swing reorganized the Border Patrol along military lines with mobile task forces conducting targeted sweeps.
The operation deported hundreds of thousands but faced massive criticism for brutal tactics and civil rights violations.
Homan is taking a more surgical approach learned from decades at ICE.
He wants agents knowing exactly who they're looking for before kicking down doors.
Trump also revealed the Justice Department and Congress are investigating Squad member Ilhan Omar.
The Minnesota Democrat's net worth mysteriously jumped to as much as $30 million in roughly one year.
Her husband Tim Mynett's firm Rose Lake Capital went from near zero in 2023 to between $5 million and $25 million in value.
Trump connected Omar's suspicious wealth to the $20 billion welfare fraud scandal that's "at least partially responsible for the violent organized protests going on in the streets."
Former Assistant US Attorney Joe Thompson estimated half of Minnesota's $18 billion in Medicaid funds spent since 2018 went to fraud.
That's $9 billion in stolen taxpayer money.
The welfare fraud revelations triggered Operation Metro Surge that brought 3,000 federal agents to Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Now Homan has to clean up the Operation Metro Surge disaster.
Trump made clear Homan reports directly to him and will coordinate with fraud investigators while managing ICE operations.
Noem tried putting on a brave face by praising Homan on social media.
But everyone knows what's really happening.
Trump just benched his Homeland Security Secretary because her pursuit of headlines over results put agents in bad situations and has many conservatives demanding an overhaul of the operation.
Sources:
- Samuel Chamberlain, Ryan King, Josh Christenson, Emily Goodin and Caitlin Doornbos, "Trump sending border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota amid unrest, sidelining DHS chief Kristi Noem," New York Post, January 26, 2026.
- "Trump to send border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota," MS Now, January 26, 2026.
- "President Donald Trump sends border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota amid unrest," Fox News, January 26, 2026.
- "ICE leadership shakeup exposes growing DHS friction over deportation tactics, priorities," Fox News, October 28, 2025.
- "Operation Wetback," Britannica, June 13, 2016.
