The Donald Trump administration has blood on its hands — once again. The death of Alex J. Pretti in Minneapolis at the hands of the roguish agents of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement is the fifth incident of shooting in January by federal agents involved in Mr Trump’s controversial crackdown on illegal immigrants: in early January, ICE had drawn the blood of a woman in Minnesota. Deaths have also been reported from immigration detention centres. In its response to the latest slaughter by ICE, Mr Trump’s government has, unsurprisingly, been economical with the truth. Stephen Miller, a White House adviser, described the victim as a “domestic terrorist” while federal agencies pointed out that he had carried a gun. But records show that Pretti had no criminal history and was a lawful owner of the weapon. What would be more damning for the officials is the existence of footage and bystander accounts that suggest that Pretti had shown no intent to harm the federal agents: the latter, in fact, are guilty of aggravated — criminal? — assault.
Mr Trump’s hardline anti-immigration campaign — a key element in his successful presidential bid — has been controversial on a number of grounds. It has been criticised for being political in tenor and partisan in intent: Minnesota, where the ICE has now killed two people, is a Blue state. Minnesota’s governor, a Democrat, is on record describing the witch hunt against immigrants as an “organised brutality”. State investigators were prevented from the scene of crime, leading to litigation. These developments are a testament to the deepening of the fracture in federal-state relations. The tactic and the conduct of federal agents — taking a cue from the president’s inflammatory rhetoric on immigration? — remain another worry. They have been accused of being intimidatory, resorting to repressive crowd management measures, and terrorising entire communities. Have the federal agents been granted a sense of immunity that is encouraging them to be unruly? The consequences of such State-endorsed bullying can be portentous for the rule of law. Public criticism of ICE’s bloody conduct is spreading. Not just in Minneapolis but Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and other cities have seen protests by civilians. Illegal immigration must be tackled; but within the established framework of law.