Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg criticized the Trump administration’s intensified immigration enforcement in Minneapolis, warning that aggressive federal tactics are eroding public trust and undermining support for border security.
Speaking during a weekend appearance on Fox News, Buttigieg said Americans broadly support secure borders and the enforcement of immigration laws but argued that current operations have crossed legal and ethical lines. However, he said that the way things are being done now has crossed legal and moral lines. “What we’re seeing is the people who are supposed to be enforcing the law are breaking the law,” he said, pointing to court rulings he said showed violations of judicial orders. The interview clip was later shared publicly by Buttigieg.
Buttigieg cited a series of incidents tied to “Operation Metro Surge,” including the shooting death of Minneapolis nurse Alex Jeffrey Pretti and the fatal shooting of Renée Nicole Good, an American mother. He also referenced the case of Alberto Castañeda Mondragón, a legal immigrant hospitalized with multiple skull fractures after his arrest. Medical staff said the injuries were inconsistent with the government’s claim that he ran into a wall, as reported by ABC News.
The enforcement surge, which began in late 2025, sent more ICE and Border Patrol agents into Minneapolis neighborhoods. This rapidly led to demonstrations and court challenges. Minnesota’s Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis’s Mayor Jacob Frey publicly urged the federal government to scale back the operation, warning it was inflaming tensions and harming community trust.
Amid the backlash, Trump sent border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota and said Homan would report directly to him. Bovino, the most visible federal official during the operation, returned from Minnesota and resumed his post in El Centro, California.
Buttigieg asked Congress to monitor the situation before the 2026 midterms, adding that attempts to secure the border must be successful, legal, and in line with civil rights.
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