In a no-nonsense White House press briefing Monday, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt laid out President Trump’s clear plan for restoring law and order in Minnesota following the fatal shooting of leftist protester Alex Pretti by a federal immigration agent over the weekend.
Leavitt didn’t mince words. She torched Democrat leaders and far-left agitators for what she called their “deadly defiance” of federal immigration enforcement, accusing them of putting American lives at risk in a reckless bid to protect illegal immigrants at all costs.
🚨BARACK OBAMA HONORED TOM HOMAN!
Washington Post headline from 2016L “Meet the man the White House has honored for deporting illegal immigrants”
“It was former President Barack Hussein Obama who awarded a medal to Mr. Homan.”
Same deportation policies, new Trump Derangement. pic.twitter.com/gPfBXORT37
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) January 26, 2026
“President Trump will not allow the will of the people to be undermined by radical politicians and activist mobs,” Leavitt said, pointing directly at Democratic officials in Minnesota. She emphasized the president’s outrage over attacks on federal agents who are, in Trump’s words, “simply doing the job I was elected to do.”
And now, the demands are on the table.
Leavitt announced a three-step plan for Minnesota’s leaders to comply with the administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration: All criminal illegal aliens currently held in state prisons and jails must be turned over to federal authorities for immediate deportation, along with any known to have active warrants or criminal histories. Local and state police must hand over any illegal aliens arrested moving forward. Local law enforcement must actively assist federal agents in apprehending and detaining criminal illegals still loose in the state.
The message? Cooperate—or face the consequences.
In addition to those directives, Leavitt called on Congress to immediately pass legislation banning sanctuary cities, saying U.S. cities should be sanctuaries “for law-abiding citizens only.”
Leavitt also confirmed that President Trump spoke directly with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz earlier that morning, and described the call as productive. Trump himself said the two were “on a similar wavelength”—a surprising but potentially significant development in the tense political landscape following two federal-involved shootings in Minneapolis.
But the most talked-about move might be the appointment of Trump’s longtime border czar Tom Homan to oversee federal immigration operations in Minnesota. Homan will now report directly to the president. The White House made it clear this isn’t a slight against DHS Secretary Kristi Noem—she remains firmly in place and focused on federal disaster response after Winter Storm Fern.
WOW: 🚨 An actual reporter just stunned the FAKE NEWS by calling out their hypocrisy in the White House briefing room!pic.twitter.com/vSbrIzq5Yp
— Hunter Eagleman™ (@Hunter_Eagleman) January 26, 2026
When a reporter attempted to question Homan’s credentials, Leavitt shut it down fast—reminding the press that the Washington Post once praised Homan’s deportation work and that President Obama himself honored him with a service award in 2016. Leavitt even brought the receipts.
But perhaps the most powerful moment came when Leavitt invoked the names of two victims—Laken Riley and Jocelyn Nungaray—as symbols of the real cost of failed immigration enforcement. “Their lives matter to this president,” she said. “And they remain an utmost priority.”
The message from the Trump administration couldn’t be clearer: the chaos stops now. And if Democrat leaders in Minnesota want cooperation, the first step is compliance.
