ICE Shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis Tests Limits of Trump’s Immigration Crackdown

Welcome back to the Global Brief, where we look at the backlash to US President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration Minnesotapossibility United States and Ukraine Security agreement and elections Myanmar.

The front line of America’s immigration battle

US President Donald Trump faces one of the most serious tests yet on his crackdown on immigration due to the actions of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Minneapolis following the fatal shooting of ICU nurse Alex Peretti by an ICE agent on Saturday.

The death marks the second killing of a US citizen by an ICE agent in that city since the Trump administration increased the number of agents there in early December. On January 7, an ICE agent fatally shot Rene Judd.

Judd’s death has sparked outrage not just in Minneapolis but in cities across the country, where demonstrators have taken to the streets to protest the Trump administration’s broader immigration enforcement crackdown, including reports of sexual assault at ICE detention centers and intimidation around schools and health care facilities that many say prevent people from sending children to classes or seeking medical care.

This public outrage intensified after Pretty’s death, as ICE’s tactics, such as using chemical irritants on peaceful protesters, drew criticism from former immigration officials as protesters risked their lives to document agent behavior.

The political backlash is also growing, with top Senate Democrats now vowing to oppose legislation necessary to avoid another federal government shutdown if a bill providing funding for the Department of Homeland Security (which includes Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is part of the package. More Republicans, including some who have largely refrained from publicly criticizing Trump, have also begun to express concern about ICE’s actions, including calling for an investigation into Pretty’s killing. The US Department of Justice has not opened investigations into the killing of Goode or Preeti, although Trump said on Sunday that his administration was “reviewing everything” regarding the latest incident.

The Trump administration is also facing problems on the legal front. A federal judge in Minnesota heard arguments Monday on whether ICE’s presence in the state should be temporarily halted, but has not yet made her decision.

The Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign has become a major domestic political issue this midterm election year, and this latest killing promises to escalate the issue’s importance even further.

Zelizer: “The horror of seeing an American citizen die at the hands of federal or state officials goes beyond ordinary politics. Such a brutal deployment of power not only stirs deep and widespread human emotion, it is also directly inconsistent with core American values ​​rooted in the Constitution.” Foreign policy.

For his part, Trump seems to realize that the situation in Minneapolis has become a political problem for him. Trump announced Monday that he was sending White House border czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis to run Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations there — a move that some interpreted as a shift in strategy in response to criticism.

Also on Monday, Trump posted on Truth Social that he received a “very good call” from Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz — a Democrat whom Trump and other administration officials have repeatedly criticized in recent weeks — and that he and Walz “seem to be on the same wavelength.”

“I told Governor Walz that I would ask Tom Homan to call him, and that what we are looking for is all the criminals they have in their possession,” Trump wrote. “The Governor respectfully understood that, and I will be speaking with him in the near future.”

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The world this week

Tuesday 27 January: Nasri Asfoura is inaugurated as President of Honduras.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosts the EU-India summit.

The United States’ withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement takes effect.

Wednesday 28 January: A ruling is expected in the criminal case against former First Lady of South Korea, Kim Keun-hye.

The two-day International Economic Forum for Latin America and the Caribbean kicks off in Panama.

Thursday 29 January: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to arrive in China for a two-day visit.

Friday 30 January: The latest continuing short-term resolution issued by the US congress expires.

Saturday 31 January: Starmer is expected to arrive in Japan.

Sunday 1 February: More trilateral talks between Ukraine, Russia and the United States are scheduled to begin in the UAE.

Holding general presidential and legislative elections in Costa Rica.

What we follow

Peace talks in Ukraine. After two days of negotiations between Ukraine, Russia and the United States, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that the US security agreement for Kiev is ready for signing. Zelensky said that after the date and location of the signing are determined, the agreement will need to be ratified by the US Congress and the Ukrainian parliament.

“For us, security guarantees are first and foremost security guarantees from the United States,” Zelensky told reporters in Vilnius. “The document is 100% ready, and we are waiting for our partners to confirm the date and place where we will sign it.” In a post on X, Zelensky added that the tripartite meetings were “constructive.”

Zelensky’s comments about the first direct talks between the three parties suggest some slight optimism in a long and arduous effort to end Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine, now approaching its fourth year. However, many sticking points remain, and Russian airstrikes have continued to bomb Ukraine in recent days. Additional talks are expected to continue on February 1, according to US officials.—Christina Lu

Election results. Myanmar’s junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party on Monday claimed victory in the country’s first elections since the military seized power in 2021. That outcome was almost certain, given reports of increasingly restricted internet access, voter suppression, and the exclusion of opposition parties amid Myanmar’s ongoing civil war, and the fact that 25 percent of parliamentary seats are reserved for the military.

Critics say the elections, held in three phases beginning on December 28, 2025 and ending on January 25, 2026, were held to legitimize USDP rule in the wake of the coup that ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021 and plunged the country into a civil war in which more than 7,000 civilians were killed. Final results are expected later this week, after which the president will be elected by military appointees and new members of parliament.

Analysts pointed to Beijing’s influence in the elections, as Chinese authorities tighten their alliances with military leaders.

“Pessimists and opportunists may argue that Washington is losing the influence game to Beijing and therefore it is time to re-engage with the junta,” Hunter Marston wrote in his article. “But this is short-sighted.” Foreign policy. “It would be better for the United States to support democratic resistance in Myanmar, so that Washington retains the good faith and support of the people, who still do not trust China, when military rule inevitably ends.”

Recovering the last Israeli hostage. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted on social media on Sunday that Israel had agreed to a “limited reopening” of Gaza’s Rafah crossing with Egypt for pedestrians, “taking into account the full Israeli inspection mechanism” and on the condition that it completes a large-scale operation to locate the remains of Israeli police officer Ran Givli, the last remaining hostage in Gaza. Just hours later, on Monday, the Israeli army announced that it had found Gvili’s remains.

The recovery of the body of Givelli, who was killed in a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, represents the closing of a painful chapter for Israel. It also removes a key condition of the first phase of the October 2025 ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, which requires the return of all dead Israelis and foreign nationals before the Gaza-Egypt border can be reopened — a major sticking point in negotiations over a long-term truce.

If the Rafah crossing — which has been mostly closed since May 2024 — reopens, Palestinians who fled Gaza during the two-year war would be able to return, while those needing medical care abroad could be evacuated, according to aid officials. The Associated Press reports that Israel intends to restrict entry into Gaza so that more Palestinians will be allowed to leave rather than return, although it is not yet clear how that policy will be implemented.

These developments come amid continuing violence: Israeli raids last week killed at least 11 Palestinians in Gaza, and on Monday, Israeli forces reportedly shot and killed a man near the site of the search for Gvili. According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, more than 480 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the ceasefire began in October 2025.

Odds and Ends

Could this be the end of panda diplomacy between China and Japan? Throngs of visitors traveled to Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo on Sunday, braving hours-long lines to catch a last glimpse of twin panda cubs Xiao Xiao and Li Li before they return to China on Tuesday. China has loaned more than 30 giant pandas to Japanese zoos since the normalization of diplomatic relations between Tokyo and Beijing in 1972. But with the cubs gone, Japan will be without a giant panda for the first time in five decades, as tensions between the two countries continue to simmer.