Donald Trump has agreed to pull ICE agents out of Minnesota after another fatal shooting of an American citizen in the state, Governor Tim Walz has said. The US President held a phone call with the Governor following the killing of 37-year-old Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse shot dead during protests in Minneapolis on Saturday. 

In a statement, Walz’s office said: “The President agreed that he would talk to his Department of Homeland Security about ensuring the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is able to conduct an independent investigation, as would ordinarily be the case.

“The President also agreed to look into reducing the number of federal agents in Minnesota and working with the state in a more coordinated fashion on immigration enforcement regarding violent criminals.”

Trump said the call was “very good” and that he and Walz are now on a “similar wavelength.” It was an abrupt shift from Trump, who frequently derides Walz for his immigration policies in Minnesota.

Meanwhile, a federal judge began hearing arguments Monday on whether she should halt, at least temporarily, the immigration crackdown in Minnesota that has led to the fatal shootings of two people by Government officers.

The state of Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul sued the Department of Homeland Security earlier this month, five days after Renee Good was shot by an Immigration and Customs officer. The shooting of Alex Pretti by a Border Patrol officer on Saturday added urgency to the case.

During arguments before US District Judge Katherine Menendez, lawyers for the state and the Twin Cities argued that the situation on the street is so dire as to require the court to halt the federal government’s immigration enforcement actions.

“If this is not stopped right here, right now, I don’t think anybody who is seriously looking at this problem can have much faith in how our republic is going to go in the future,” Minnesota Assistant Attorney General Brian Carter said.

The president’s statement comes after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, who has become the public face of the crackdown, answered questions at news conferences over the weekend about Pretti’s shooting. Trump posted on social media that Homan will report directly to him.