Protests continued in Minneapolis and other US cities on Sunday over the fatal shooting by immigration agents of 37-year-old intensive care nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said America was at an inflection point and repeated calls for US President Donald Trump to remove federal immigration agents from the city.
The US president meanwhile called for the governor to turn over all Criminal Illegal Aliens incarcerated in state prisons for deportation.
Meanwhile Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara told the BBC that state officers were blocked from accessing the scene of the shooting by federal agents, despite securing a search warrant.
He added that all levels of law enforcement in Minnesota have been working with federal law enforcement for several years, and that the unfolding situation in Minnesota was hampering agencies' ability to continue such investigations.
US Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino on Saturday accused O'Hara and Frey of trying to derail federal law enforcement operations.
Trump signaled in an interview with the Wall Street Journal published on Sunday that he might be willing to eventually withdraw ICE agents from the Minneapolis area, but did not provide a time frame.
He told the outlet: At some point we will leave. We've done, they've done a phenomenal job. In the interview, the president added that his administration was reviewing everything about Pretti's death and said that it will come out with a determination.
Lawmakers continue to be divided over the shooting of Pretti, as well as his second Amendment right to bear arms. US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Pretti was shot because he was brandishing a gun. Local authorities say the gun was legally registered, he was not brandishing it, and he was shot after the gun was removed.
Pretti's family issued a statement in response to the comment saying the sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting. His family said he had no interaction with law enforcement beyond a handful of traffic tickets, according to AP, court records show he had no criminal record.
Backlash against the Trump administration's crackdown is growing, including from within the Republican party. Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt told CNN that people were watching fellow Americans being shot on television and that federal tactics and accountability had become a growing concern for voters.
Sunday saw hundreds of protesters in Minneapolis brave freezing conditions to protest the shooting, as armed and masked agents used tear gas and stun grenades against them. Protests spread to New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
The chief executives of over 60 Minnesota-based businesses signed an open letter urging for an immediate de-escalation of tensions and collaboration for real solutions.
