Who Is Tom Homan and Why Is He Coming to Minnesota As Trump Sidelines Homeland Security Chief After Alex Pretti Killing

US President Donald Trump said on Monday he is sending his border czar, Tom Homan, to Minnesota to take direct control of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse, by a Border Patrol agent.

Trump said Homan will report directly to him, sidelining Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem as the administration faces fallout from an enforcement operation linked to two US citizen deaths in Minneapolis within three weeks.

DHS Officials Slam 'Crisis PR Disaster'

Multiple sources with direct knowledge of the situation said that officials within DHS are increasingly concerned about the agency's reputation following statements by senior administration officials about Pretti's shooting that have been 'directly contradicted by videos of the incident and witness accounts'. One official, who requested anonymity to speak candidly, described top DHS officials as mishandling the public messaging around the incident. Fox News reporter n said he had spoken to more than half a dozen federal immigration officials who saw DHS's messaging as 'a case study on how not to do crisis PR'.

Multiple sources said officials within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are increasingly worried about the agency's credibility after statements from senior administration figures about Pretti's shooting were 'directly contradicted' by video and witness accounts.

Fox News reporter Bill Melugi said he had spoken to more than half a dozen federal immigration officials who viewed DHS's messaging as 'a case study on how not to do crisis PR'.

The tension follows Noem's claim, made without providing evidence, that Pretti 'approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun', and that his actions amounted to 'domestic terrorism'. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara told reporters Pretti was believed to be a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry, and videos circulating online appear to show he was not holding a handgun during his interaction with federal agents.

'I am sending Tom Homan to Minnesota tonight. He has not been involved in that area, but knows and likes many of the people there. Tom is tough but fair, and will report directly to me,' Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Who Is Tom Homan?

Thomas Douglas Homan, 63, is a former police officer and career immigration enforcement official with more than three decades of federal law enforcement experience.

He began his career in 1984 as a Border Patrol agent. Under President Barack Obama, he served as executive associate director of enforcement and removal operations for ICE, and received a Presidential Rank Award as a Distinguished Executive in 2015.

Homan later became acting ICE director from January 2017 to June 2018 during Trump's first term. He was identified as one of the chief architects of the family separation policy before retiring in 2018.

After leaving government, Homan became a Fox News contributor and, in 2022, a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation. Trump appointed him 'border czar' in November 2024, a role that does not require Senate confirmation.

The Alex Pretti Shooting

Alex Pretti worked at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center, and he was shot on Saturday morning during protests against Operation Metro Surge.

DHS had previously announced the deployment of thousands of federal agents to the Minneapolis area as part of what it called the largest immigration enforcement operation ever carried out.

According to reports, Pretti was filming federal agents during an immigration operation when agents surrounded him, sprayed him with a chemical irritant, pinned him to the ground, and shot him multiple times.

White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller described Pretti as a 'would-be assassin'. Noem also claimed the incident amounted to 'domestic terrorism', characterisations that local officials have disputed.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Trump declined to endorse Noem's account and repeatedly refused to say whether the agent who shot Pretti had 'done the right thing'.

Federal Judge Intervenes

US District Court Judge Eric Tostrud granted a temporary restraining order on Saturday, preventing DHS from 'destroying or altering evidence related to the fatal shooting involving federal officers'.

A separate hearing is scheduled on Monday to determine whether to temporarily halt the Trump administration's immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota.

Fraud Investigation Coordination

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Homan will run ICE operations on the ground in Minnesota, while coordinating with officials leading investigations into alleged fraud in the state's social services programmes.

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has been investigating the alleged fraud, with federal prosecutors estimating that criminals have stolen at least $9 billion.

Late on Monday morning, Trump said he had 'a very good call' with Governor Tim Walz and claimed the two 'seemed to be on a similar wavelength'. Walz has called for Trump to remove federal agents from Minnesota after they shot three people in a month.

Trump's decision to put Homan in charge, outside the usual chain of command, amounts to an unusually direct intervention in a high-profile enforcement operation. Whether Homan can calm tensions without slowing enforcement now sits at the centre of the administration's political and legal risk.