Texas Governor Greg Abbott called for ICE to change course as criticism to the agency mounts following the killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis last Saturday.
Speaking on the Mark Davis Show on Monday, Abbott was asked if he was “concerned that ICE’s popularity ratings are going down.”
He replied that “they, being the White House, need to recalibrate on what needs to be done to make sure that respect is going to be reinstalled.”
“That’s not an easy task, especially under the current circumstances, but I know that they are working on a game plan to make sure that they are going to … recalibrate and maybe work from a different direction to ensure that they get back to get what they wanted to do to begin with, and that is to remove people from the country,” Abbott added.
The Trump administration is making some changes after the backlash. Different reports noted that Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino is expected to leave Minneapolis, and that Customs and Border Protection is also set to reduce the number of agents in the city throughout the week.
Bovino, who was considered the face of the operation, will return to the border in El Centro, California. He will no longer have the title of commander and won’t oversee Border Patrol agents making immigration arrests in cities in the interior.
Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a social media publication that Bovino “has NOT been relieved of his duties” and “is a key part of the President’s team and a great American.”
President Donald Trump also said on Monday that border czar Tom Homan will travel to Minnesota this week and be in charge of such operations as the point of contact on the ground. According to The Wall Street Journal, Homan has advocated for a more targeted approach to deportations.
The outlet noted that Republican lawmakers and other allies have raised concerns about the impact of the operation in terms of public support. In an interview with the outlet on Sunday, Trump refused to say whether the agent who shot Pretti acted appropriately and said the administration was reviewing the incident.
Originally published on Latin Times
