Minneapolis, Trump announces minor de-escalation: 'This is not a retreat'

A federal judge in Texas has temporarily blocked the deportation of Liam the 5-year-old boy arrested by ICE last week in Minneapolis with his father. The two will remain in the San Antonio detention centre. The federal government claims that Adrian Conejo Arias, from Ecuador, entered the US illegally, but the man's lawyer disclosed that 'Liam and his father entered the US through an official border crossing, presented themselves to the Border Patrol, and applied for asylum'.

Liam, il bimbo di cinque anni arrestato dagli agenti dell'immigrazione alla periferia di Minneapolis mentre tornava a casa da scuola e portato assieme al padre in un centro di detenzione in Texas, 22 gennaio 2026. +++ Courtesy of Columbia Heights Public Schools +++ ATTENZIONE LA FOTO NON PUO' ESSERE PUBBLICATA O RIPRODOTTA SENZA L'AUTORIZZAZIONE DELLA FONTE DI ORIGINE CUI SI RINVIA +++ NPK +++

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey told President Donald Trump's border security chief Tom Homan that the city will not enforce federal immigration laws and demanded that the wave of immigration controls 'cease as quickly as possible'.

Homan met with Frey and Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara in the local morning. "Public safety works best when it is based on community trust, not tactics that create fear or division," Frey said in a statement released after the meeting. "I shared with Mr. Homan the serious negative impacts this operation has had on Minneapolis and surrounding communities, as well as the strain it has created on our local police officers." Frey stated that the city "will continue to focus on the safety of our neighbours and our streets".

Further reading

Ice kills again, Minneapolis in revolt. White House: 'Patriot agents'. Obama: 'Alarm bell for every American'

24 January 2026

Donald Trump threatens to withdraw support for Iraq if Nouri Maliki, a former prime minister with ties to Iran who has been nominated for office again, returns to lead the country. "The last time he was in power the country plunged into total poverty and chaos, this must not be allowed again," he wrote in Truth, "because of his insane policies and ideologies, if elected, the United States will no longer help Iraq and without our help Iraq has zero chance of success, prosperity and freedom.

One person was seriously injured in a shooting involving the Border Patrol near the US-Mexico border. This was reported by the Associated Press on its website. The shooting took place in Arivaca, Arizona.

US House Dem minority leader Hakeem Jeffries his deputies in the party leadership have issued a warning to Donald Trump: fire Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, or the Democrats will "initiate impeachment proceedings". The House Democratic leader's new threat comes as support for Noem's impeachment is growing among his members, with more than two-thirds of the caucus now co-sponsoring articles of impeachment.

In the weeks following the killing of Renée Good, Jeffries avoided questions about impeachment, telling Axios until last week that 'we have not ruled out anything and have not included anything'. But the killing of Alex Pretti on Saturday gave a decisive boost to the initiative, prompting even some prominent centrist members, elected in swing districts and belonging to the leadership to sign up. "Taxpayer dollars are being exploited by the Trump administration to kill American citizens," Jeffries said in a joint memo with 'whip' Katherine Clark and Democratic caucus chairman Pete Aguilar.

US President Donald Trump has ruled out the resignation of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in connection with the events in Minneapolis. When asked by reporters as he left the White House to travel to Iowa whether Noem will resign, the president replied with one word, 'no'. Democrats in Congress demanded Noem's resignation after federal agents killed two people within days in Minneapolis who were protesting immigration control measures. Trump sent his border security chief Tom Homan to Minneapolis and said Homan will meet with both the city's mayor and the governor of Minnesota. 'He's meeting with the governor and, I think, later on he'll meet with the mayor as well,' he said.

Il presidente Donald Trump parla con i giornalisti prima di salire a bordo del Marine One nel South Lawn della Casa Bianca, martedì 27 gennaio 2026, a Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Donald Trump distanced himself from the words of his deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, who had called Alex Pretti, the US citizen killed by federal agents in Minneapolis, a 'murderer'. "Having said that, you can't have guns, you can't show up armed, you can't do that, but it was a very unfortunate incident," the US president told reporters.

Tom Homan, theborder czar sent to Minneapolis to coordinate Ice operations, "is meeting with the governor and will meet with the mayor, I think later today, and from what I hear everything is going very well": this was said by Donald Trump speaking to reporters before flying to Iowa.

A 'very sad situation': Donald Trump told reporters before flying to Iowa, commenting on the killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis at the hands of an ICE agent.

Homeland Security Minister Kris Noem remains in her post, Donald Trump said, responding to reporters before flying to Iowa on developments in Minneapolis.

'What is happening with Ice is going too far'. These are the words of Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, to employees. In a message, Altman explains that there is a 'big difference between deporting violent criminals and what is happening'. 'President Trump is a very strong leader and I hope,' Altman added, according to a report in the New York Times, 'that he will be able to address this moment and unite the country. I am encouraged by the reactions of the last few hours and hope that trust will be rebuilt through independent investigations."

Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court in Minnesota, Patrick Schiltz, in a stark three-page order ordered the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Todd Lyons, to personally appear before the Minneapolis court on Friday 30 January to explain why he should not be held in contempt of court after his agency repeatedly violated immigration enforcement laws.

"The patience of this court has come to an end," wrote Schiltz, who condemned the decision to "send thousands of agents to Minnesota to detain aliens without providing any measures to handle the hundreds of appeals and lawsuits that would result."

President Donald Trump's restrictive immigration policy has contributed to a decline in the US population growth rate to 341.8 million in 2025, according to population estimates released by the US Census Bureau. The growth rate of 0.5 per cent in 2025 was a sharp drop from the growth rate of about 1 per cent in 2024, the highest since 2001, fuelled mainly by immigration.

Estimates for 2024 indicated a US population of 340 million. Immigration increased by 1.3 million last year, compared to an increase of 2.8 million in 2024. The census report did not distinguish between legal and illegal immigration. Over the past 125 years, the lowest growth rate was in 2021, during the peak of the Covid pandemic, when the US population increased by only 0.16%, or 522,000 people, and immigration increased by only 376,000 due to restrictions on travel to the US. Before that, the lowest growth rate had been just under 0.5% in 1919, during the peak of the Spanish flu.

The data released today comes as experts try to determine the second Trump administration's effect on immigration policies after the tycoon returned to the White House in January 2025. The data covers a period that marks the start of police reinforcements in Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon, but does not capture the impact of anti-immigration policies after the Trump administration began enforcing them more strictly in Chicago, New Orleans, Memphis (Tennessee) and Minneapolis (Minnesota). The 2025 numbers represent a marked divergence from 2024, when net international migration accounted for 84% of the 3.3 million increase over the previous year. The jump in migration two years ago was partly due to a new counting method that included people admitted for humanitarian reasons.

Manifestanti portano cartelli che condannano l'Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) vicino al luogo in cui un uomo identificato come Alex Pretti è stato ucciso da agenti federali che cercavano di arrestarlo, a Minneapolis, Minnesota, Stati Uniti, il 24 gennaio 2026. REUTERS/Tim Evans/Foto d'archivio

Former US President Joe Biden, in a lengthy post on X on Tuesday condemned the murders of Renée Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis and praised the citizens of Minnesota for "denouncing injustice when they saw it". "What happened in Minneapolis over the past month betrays our most fundamental values as Americans," Biden said. The former president added: "We are not a nation that shoots its citizens in the streets. We are not a nation that allows its citizens to be brutalised for exercising their constitutional rights. We are not a nation that tramples on the Fourth Amendment and tolerates our neighbours being terrorised."

For Biden, the Minnesota citizens' protests against the federal government's crackdown 'reminded us what it means to be an American and that they have suffered enough at the hands of this Administration'. The former president did not mention Trump by name, but wrote that: "No single person can destroy what America stands for and believes in, not even a President, if we ? Americans ? all stand up and make our voices heard."

For a growing number of White House allies the person to be held responsible for the chaos into which the anti-immigrant campaign in Minneapolis has plunged is Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. And it is no coincidence that the iron-fisted minister, famous for having herself revealed that she had shot her puppy because it was 'undisciplined', was briefed yesterday for two hours, together with her most loyal advisor, Corey Lewandosky, by Donald Trump in the Oval Office. According to the New York Times citing informed sources, the meeting was actually requested by Noem herself and took place after Trump throughout the day had first announced the dispatch to Minnesota of Tom Homan, also an anti-immigrant hawk but with a long and established career in ICE unlike many of the thousands of federal agents deployed in Minnesota, and then had phone calls with both the state's local Democratic leaders, confirming a change in the total confrontation strategy assumed so far. During last night's meeting, attended by chief of staff Susie Wiles, deputy chief of staff spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt, and communications director Steven Cheung, Trump never suggested that Noem or Lewandowski were at risk of losing their jobs. Even sources quoted by Cbsnews point out that despite the 'internal scrutiny' that Noem will face, it is believed that he will ultimately retain his post.

Il segretario alla Sicurezza interna degli Stati Uniti Kristi Noem parla della sparatoria avvenuta a Minneapolis, Minnesota, in cui agenti federali hanno ucciso il cittadino statunitense Alex Pretti mentre cercavano di arrestarlo, durante una conferenza stampa presso il Centro nazionale di coordinamento delle emergenze dell'Agenzia federale per la gestione delle emergenze (FEMA) a Washington, D.C., Stati Uniti, il 24 gennaio 2026. REUTERS/Nathan Howard

"What we need are their criminals. You know, they have criminals. And all I said was: 'Give us your criminals. And if you give us the criminals, everything will end'. They are there to arrest the murderers'." This was stated by US President Donald Trump, speaking on the 'Sid & Friends in the Morning' radio programme about his talks with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, which he described as 'very positive' and 'very respectful'. Asked about the possibility of a compromise, Trump replied: 'I think so'.

A librarian from Ripley, West Virginia, has been arrested on charges of attempting to recruit people on social media to kill President Donald Trump. This was reported by the New York Post, pointing out that she is 39-year-old Morgan L. Morrow, who was arrested after posting a video on TikTok that was believed to be an incitement to assassinate the head of the White House. According to the criminal complaint cited by broadcaster Wowk, Morrow allegedly wrote: "Can it be that you can't find a sniper with a terminal illness among 343 million people?", a phrase interpreted by authorities as a direct threat to the tycoon. The woman was indicted for 'terroristic threats' and, when questioned by police, she allegedly admitted that the message was 'intended as a threat directed at President Donald J. Trump', although she claimed she had no intention of acting personally. Jackson County Sheriff Ross Mellinger explained that statements such as Morrow's are considered dangerous because they are 'designed to encourage or inspire others to carry out the threatened act', adding that 'it is legitimate to criticise the government, but to promote violence is to cross the line'. The county public library has distanced itself from the employee's behaviour, while Morrow remains detained in the South Central Regional Jail, without bail, pending further developments in the investigation.

The political pressure on Kristi Noem, the Trump administration's Homeland Security secretary, who has come under fire after the killings of two American citizens - Renée Good and Alex Pretti - by federal agents in Minneapolis, remains unabated. Democrats have launched a parliamentary offensive that could result in an impeachment attempt, reports the Washington Post, as calls grow for resignations and independent investigations of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). In the House, the Democrats announced the opening of a formal investigation into the DHS management, to be conducted without the involvement of the Republicans, who are accused of poor oversight of the executive branch.

According to Politico, at least 140 MPs have already signed a resolution calling for the impeachment of Noem, a number that has increased significantly since the death of Pretti, a nurse at a veterans' hospital who was shot dead by Border Patrol officers. The text, presented by Congresswoman Robin Kelly, accuses the secretary of 'obstruction of Congress', 'violation of the public trust' and 'betrayal of the oath of office'.

"I call for unity. My husband, the president, had good calls yesterday with the governor" of Minnesota and the mayor of Minneapolis and "they're working together" to calm the situation. The first lady Melania Trump said this in an interview with Fox. "I'm against violence. Please if you demonstrate, do it peacefully. We have to be united" in times like this, Melania added.

President Donald Trump is returning to America's heartland in an attempt to bring attention back to the economic message, which has been overshadowed by protests against his deportation policies and the killing of two protesters by federal law enforcement. During his visit to Iowa on Tuesday, the president will visit a local business, meet with state lawmakers and give a speech "about affordability and the economy, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said on Monday.

But the nation's attention will turn to northern Iowa, in neighbouring Minnesota, where already high tensions escalated over the weekend when federal immigration agents shot and killed a 37-year-old intensive care nurse after confronting protesters in Minneapolis.

"As an Italian before being a Milanese citizen, I do not feel protected by Piantedosi, who says that even if Ice agents should come" for the Olympic Games "what problem is there.This is a militia that kills". This was said by the mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala live on Rtl 102.5. 'It is a militia that enters people's homes by signing their permission, it is clear that they are not welcome in Milan,' he added. 'I ask myself, will we be able to say no to Trump for once? Ice agents should not come to Italy because they are not aligned with our democratic way of guaranteeing security'.

Iran is at its weakest since the 1979 revolution that led to the fall of the Shah. This was reported to the New York Times by well-informed sources according to which US President Donald Trump has received numerous US intelligence reports indicating a weakening of the Iranian government's position. According to the reports, the protests that broke out late last year shook some elements of the Iranian government, especially as they reached areas of the country that officials believed were strongholds of support for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader. Although the protests have subsided, the government remains in a difficult position. Intelligence reports have repeatedly pointed out that in addition to the protests, Iran's economy is weak.

US President Donald Trump announced that tariffs on some South Korean products will now be 25%, claiming that the South Korean parliament did not ratify the trade agreement between the two countries quickly enough. "Because the Korean parliament has not ratified our historic trade agreement, which is its prerogative, I have decided to increase tariffs on cars, lumber, pharmaceuticals and all other reciprocal tariffs from 15% to 25%," Trump wrote on his Truth social network. "President Lee and I reached an important agreement between our two countries on 30 July and reiterated the terms during my visit to South Korea on 29 October. Why didn't the Korean parliament approve it?" asked Trump. Seoul responded immediately, stating its intention to discuss the issue with Washington "as soon as possible". "There has been no official notification from the US government at this stage," the South Korean presidential office said in a note.

California's Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, has accused the TikTok platform of censoring content critical of President Donald Trump, just days after the conclusion of a deal that brought the app under the control of US-majority investors, at the urging of the US president himself. "Following the sale of TikTok to a group of investors aligned with Trump, our office received reports and independently confirmed instances of removal of content critical of President Trump," the governor's office wrote on X, without providing further details. An investigation by the California Department of Justice has also been opened to determine whether such practices violate state law.