Minneapolis surge ending, border czar Tom Homan says

The surge yielded the "successful results we came here for," Homan said.

Alex Pretti, 37, was shot and killed on Jan. 24 in Minneapolis -- the second shooting of a U.S. citizen last month by federal agents in the city. His death was ruled a homicide by the county medical examiner.

The shooting of Pretti, an ICU nurse, ratcheted up tensions, as protesters clashed in the streets with law enforcement in the aftermath of the shooting.

The incident followed the fatal shooting of Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother, on Jan. 7.


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Homan to hold Minneapolis press conference

President Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, is scheduled to hold a press conference on Thursday morning in Minneapolis, according to the White House.

Homan is expected to speak at 8 a.m. local time, briefing the press about a week after he said the administration would begin to draw down about 700 federal agents from the Minnesota capital’s streets.

Thousands of federal agents have been operating in Minnesota as part of Operation Metro Surge, an operation launched in December by the Trump administration with the stated goal of detaining undocumented immigrants.

A full drawdown of those agents would be dependent on the level of cooperation from local authorities, Homan said last week.

"My goal, with the support of President Trump, is to achieve a complete drawdown and end this surge as soon as we can, but that is largely contingent upon the end of the illegal and threatening activities against ice and its federal partners that we're seeing in the community," Homan said last Wednesday.

-ABC News’ Nicholas Kerr


Renee Good's partner releases new statement as community gathers for memorial

Shortly before the start of a memorial to Renee Good and Alex Pretti Saturday, Good's partner released a new statement honoring the one month anniversary of her shooting.


"Minneapolis has shown me that even in the middle of grief and fear, people still show up for each other. For that, I want to say thank you. Thank you to this incredible community for showing up again and again — organizing food and rides, making sure our kids get to school, checking in on neighbors, and standing together in the cold. I am so proud to call Minneapolis my home," Becca Good said in her statement.

Becca Good also expressed her condolences for Pretti.

"Renee and I chose kindness. We believed that every life deserves the same care, treatment, and dignity, no matter who they are or what they look like. That shouldn’t be radical. If it is, then I want Renee and our family to be known for how we practiced radical kindness every day," she said.

-ABC News' Henderson Hewes


Gov. Walz warns that federal agent surge is damaging state's economy

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz took to social media again Thursday night calling the federal government to end Operation Metro Surge.

He linked to a local news piece that interviewed Minneapolis Director of Community Planning and Economic Development Erik Hansen who said the city is losing up to $20 million every week since the surge began.


"Operation Metro Surge is hurting small business and doing long-term damage to Minnesota's economy. It's time for this campaign of retribution to end," Walz said.


Renee Good, Alex Pretti killings 'should have not happened': Trump

President Donald Trump said he was "not happy" with the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis during an exclusive sit-down interview with NBC News on Wednesday.

"I'm not happy with the two incidents," he said. "He was not an angel and she was not an angel. You know, you look at some tapes from back, but still, I'm not happy with what happened there. Nobody could be happy and ICE wasn't happy either."

Though Trump said Good and Pretti are not "angels," he said this does not justify what happened to them.

"No, it should have not happened. It was very sad to me, a very sad incident. I think they were both sad," Trump said.

“And you know who feels worse about it than anybody? The people of ICE," he added.

An ICE officer shot and killed Good while she was in her vehicle on Jan. 7. Pretti was killed in a shooting involving federal agents later that month. A Border Patrol agent and a Customs and Border Protection officer both discharged their weapons during the shooting, according to a DHS notification to Congress.

-ABC News' Nicholas Kerr, Emily Chang and Michelle Stoddart