WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Two federal officers fired shots during the encounter that killed over the weekend in Minneapolis, a Customs and Border Protection official told Congress in a notice sent Tuesday, while Ecuador鈥檚 minister of foreign affairs filed an objection saying immigration agents tried to enter the country’s consulate in the city without permission.
Officers tried to take Pretti into custody and he resisted, leading to a struggle, according to a notification to Congress obtained by The Associated Press. During the struggle, a Border Patrol agent yelled, 鈥淗e鈥檚 got a gun!鈥� multiple times, the official said.
A Border Patrol officer and a CBP officer each fired Glock pistols, the notice said.
Investigators from CBP鈥檚 Office of Professional Responsibility conducted the analysis based on a review of body-worn camera footage and agency documentation, the notice said. The law requires the agency to inform relevant congressional committees about deaths in CBP custody within 72 hours.
Separately, a man was arrested after he at U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar while she was speaking at a town hall meeting in Minneapolis. The Democrat had just called for the abolishment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to resign when she was sprayed.
Trump says ‘we’re going to de-escalate a little bit’
The developments came a day after border czar Tom Homan to take over his administration鈥檚 immigration crackdown in Minnesota in the wake of Pretti’s death, which was the of a person at the hands of immigration law enforcement.
By sending Homan to Minnesota, 鈥渨e鈥檙e going to de-escalate a little bit,鈥� Trump said during an interview on Fox 海角社区app鈥� 鈥淲ill Cain Show.鈥� That鈥檚 significant since White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, when questioned repeatedly Monday about Homan鈥檚 being dispatched to Minnesota, refused to say that doing so was an effort to calm the situation.
The president added of Homan, 鈥淭om, as tough as he is, gets along鈥� with governors and mayors, even in Democratic areas.
As he left the White House on Tuesday, the president was asked whether was justified. He responded by saying that a 鈥渂ig investigation鈥� was underway. In the hours after Pretti鈥檚 death, some administration officials sought to blame the shooting on the 37-year-old intensive care nurse.
Stephen Miller, Trump鈥檚 deputy chief of staff who had initially called Pretti 鈥渁n assassin,鈥� issued a statement suggesting CBP officers in Minneapolis 鈥渕ay not have been following鈥� protocol. He said the Homeland Security Department鈥檚 initial statements about what transpired on Saturday was 鈥渂ased on reports from CBP on the ground.鈥�
Ecuador files a protest with the US Embassy
A video of the Ecuadorian consulate entry attempt posted on social media shows a staffer running to the door to turn the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents away, telling them, 鈥淭his is the Ecuadorian consulate. You鈥檙e not allowed to enter.鈥� One ICE officer can be heard responding by threatening to 鈥済rab鈥� the staffer if he touched the agent before agreeing to leave.
International law generally prohibits law enforcement authorities from entering foreign consulates or embassies without permission, though sometimes permission may be assumed granted for life-threatening emergencies, like fires.
鈥淐onsulate officials immediately prevented the ICE officer from entering the consular building, thus ensuring the protection of the Ecuadorians who were present at the time and activating the emergency protocols issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility,鈥� the ministry wrote on X.
A 鈥渘ote of protest鈥� was filed with the U.S. Embassy in Ecuador so that similar attempts aren鈥檛 made at other consulates, the ministry said. The State Department, Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Trump says of sending Bovino to Minneapolis: 鈥楳aybe it wasn鈥檛 good here鈥�
Immigration enforcement activity witnessed by journalists in Minneapolis and surrounding suburbs on Tuesday appeared comparable with recent weeks. As before, most didn鈥檛 result in major confrontations with agents. Activists say they continue to monitor enforcement operations through social media and chats on messaging apps.
The White House had tried to blame Democratic leaders for the protests of immigration raids. But after and videos suggesting he was not an active threat, the administration tapped Homan to take charge of the Minnesota operation from .
Trump said Bovino, the go-to architect for the president鈥檚 large-scale city-by-city immigration crackdowns, was 鈥渧ery good鈥� but added 鈥渉e鈥檚 a pretty out-there kind of a guy鈥� and 鈥渕aybe it wasn鈥檛 good here.鈥�
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, along with the city’s police chief, met with Homan on Tuesday and agreed to keep talking. Homan posted on social media that the discussions 鈥渨ere a productive starting point.鈥�
Courts weigh in on detained immigrants
In Texas, a federal judge issued of a and his father who were detained last week in Minnesota in an incident that further inflamed on immigration. U.S. Judge Fred Biery ruled Monday that any removal or transfer of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, is on hold while a court case proceeds.
Also in Texas, federal immigration authorities released an Ecuadorian man whose detention led the chief federal judge in Minnesota to order the to appear in his courtroom, the man’s attorney said.
Attorney Graham Ojala-Barbour said the man was released in Texas. The lawyer said in an email to The Associated Press that he was notified in an email from the U.S. attorneys office in Minneapolis that his client had been freed.
In an order dated Monday, Chief Judge Patrick J. Schiltz expressed frustration with the Trump administration鈥檚 handling of immigration cases. He took the extraordinary step of ordering Todd Lyons, the , to personally appear in his courtroom Friday.
Schiltz had said in his order that he would cancel Lyons鈥� appearance if the man was released from custody.
鈥淭his Court has been extremely patient with respondents, even though respondents decided to send thousands of agents to Minnesota to detain aliens without making any provision for dealing with the hundreds of habeas petitions and other lawsuits that were sure to result,鈥� he wrote.
Schiltz’s order followed a on a request by the state and the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul for a judge to halt the immigration enforcement surge. The judge in that case said she would prioritize the ruling but did not give a timeline for a decision.
Schiltz wrote that he recognizes ordering the head of a federal agency to appear personally is extraordinary. 鈥淏ut the extent of ICE鈥檚 violation of court orders is likewise extraordinary, and lesser measures have been tried and failed,鈥� he said.
The Associated Press left messages Tuesday with ICE and a DHS spokesperson seeking a response.
___
Catalini reported from Trenton, New Jersey and Karnowski from Minneapolis. Associated Press writers Tim Sullivan in Minneapolis, Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho, and Michelle Price in Washington contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
