The week ended with a fatal ICE shooting, expanded detention powers, and sweeping escalation on immigration and trade.
Dante Belcher
Jan 26, 2026
Trump’s 53rd week ended with further immigration violence, political tensions, health policy shifts, and the ongoing trade war. This followed the killing of Alex Pretti, a U.S. citizen and nurse at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), who was shot and killed by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis, weeks after Renée Good was killed by Jonathan Ross, an ICE agent. Attorney General Pam Bondi later demanded Minnesota’s voter registration records following the shooting, alleging the state violated the Civil Rights Act of 1960.
At the same time, additional ICE actions sparked nationwide backlash, including the detention of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos at his school and 2-year-old Chloe Renata Tipan Villacis, along with her father, Elvis Joel Tipan-Echeverria. A corrections officer in Maine was later detained by ICE, prompting criticism from local police, who described the officer as having a “squeaky clean” record. Meanwhile, the House of Representatives approved additional funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), drawing backlash after seven Democrats voted in favor of the measure.
Following a previous report from The Introspective detailing the United States’ withdrawal from more than 66 international organizations, including 31 associated with the United Nations, the U.S. announced it had left the World Health Organization (WHO). The move led California to become the first state to join the WHO’s Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network. At the same time, Trump filed a lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase and its CEO, Jamie Dimon, alleging the bank closed accounts following the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection for “political and social motivations.”
Meanwhile, as the trade war continues, Trump also threatened a 100% tariff on Canada.
Alex Pretti and Pam Bondi
Border Patrol agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, a U.S. citizen and VA nurse, on Saturday in Minneapolis in what many are calling “execution style”, after he was checking on a protester who had been pushed during a demonstration. The shooting occurred weeks after Renée Good was killed by ICE.
“DHS law enforcement officers were conducting a targeted operation in Minneapolis against an illegal alien wanted for violent assault when an individual approached U.S. Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun,” the Department of Homeland Security wrote on X, claiming Pretti was an undocumented immigrant.
“Fearing for his life and the lives and safety of fellow officers, an agent fired defensive shots.”
Local police later dismissed that claim, with Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara confirming Pretti was a U.S. citizen and a “lawful gun owner with a permit to carry.”
Video reviewed by The Introspective did not show Pretti using his gun against federal agents. Agents were seen disarming Pretti before shooting him multiple times, despite him being restrained. Federal agents also attempted to prevent local police from assessing the scene following the shooting.
“Minnesota has had it. This is sickening,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz wrote on X.
“The President must end this operation. Pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now.”
Walz later deployed the Minnesota National Guard following the shooting, with President Trump accusing Walz of “inciting insurrection.”
“This is the gunman’s gun, loaded (with two additional full magazines!), and ready to go —what is that all about? Where are the local police? Why weren’t they allowed to protect ICE officers? The mayor and the governor called them off?” Trump wrote on Truth Social, defending the federal agents.
“It is stated that many of these police were not allowed to do their job, that ICE had to protect themselves—not an easy thing to do!”
“The mayor and the governor are inciting insurrection with their pompous, dangerous, and arrogant rhetoric! Instead, these sanctimonious political fools should be looking for the billions of dollars that have been stolen from the people of Minnesota and the United States of America. LET OUR ICE PATRIOTS DO THEIR JOB! Twelve thousand illegal alien criminals, many of them violent, have been arrested and taken out of Minnesota,” he added.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey criticized the Trump administration, saying he was “done being told that our community members are responsible for the vitriol in our streets.”
“We saw 15,000 people peacefully protesting in the streets, speaking out, standing up for their neighbors. Not a single broken window, not a single injury,” he said.
“The invasion of these heavily armed, masked agents roaming our streets of Minneapolis, emboldened with a sense of impunity—it has to end. This is not how it has to be.”
In an X post, Bill Essayli, first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, wrote, “If you approach law enforcement with a gun, there is a high likelihood they will be legally justified in shooting you,” adding, “Don’t do it!”
The National Rifle Association (NRA) criticized Essayli’s comments, calling them “dangerous and wrong.”
“Responsible public voices should be awaiting a full investigation, not making generalizations and demonizing law-abiding citizens,” the NRA wrote on X.
The American Nurses Association (AMA) said it was “deeply disturbed and saddened” by Pretti’s death and called for a full investigation.
“One in four nurses already experience workplace violence. As incidents with federal law enforcement continue to rise across the country, we are deeply concerned for the safety of nurses, both on the job and in the communities they serve,” the association said in a press release.
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), a union representing federal employees, confirmed that Pretti was an employee of the Minneapolis VA Health Care System, calling his death “devastating.”
“What we do know is this: a member of our union lost their life today, and that alone is devastating. Our hearts are heavy, and we are deeply stricken by this tragedy that has befallen one of our own,” the AFGE wrote in a Facebook post.
“Until more information becomes available, I urge everyone to remain calm and encourage peace and restraint in all communications and actions.”
Michael and Susan Pretti, Alex’s parents, released a statement obtained by The Introspective, saying they were “heartbroken but also very angry.”
“Alex was a kindhearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends and also the American veterans whom he cared for as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital. Alex wanted to make a difference in this world. Unfortunately, he will not be with us to see his impact. I do not throw around the hero term lightly. However, his last thought and act was to protect a woman,” they said.
“The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting. Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump’s murdering and cowardly ICE thugs. He has his phone in his right hand, and his empty left hand is raised above his head while trying to protect the woman ICE just pushed down, all while being pepper-sprayed,” they continued.
“Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man. Thank you.”
At the same time, Attorney General Pam Bondi demanded access to Minnesota’s voter registration records following the shooting, saying Gov. Walz could “restore the rule of law.”
“Allow the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice to access voter rolls to confirm that Minnesota’s voter registration practices comply with federal law, as authorized by the Civil Rights Act of 1960,” Bondi wrote in a letter obtained by The Introspective.
“I am confident that these simple steps will help bring back law and order to Minnesota and improve the lives of Americans.”
Bondi later suggested Minnesota repeal its sanctuary policies, following a previous report from The Introspective noting the Trump administration announced that sanctuary cities and states would lose federal funding by Feb. 1.
Immigration and House of Representatives
With anti-immigrant sentiment ongoing, backlash erupted after 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos was detained by ICE, with officials accusing his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, of “abandoning his child.”
“He and his child were in a vehicle. Arias fled from law enforcement on foot, abandoning his child in the middle of winter in a vehicle. One of our officers stayed behind with that child, while other officers apprehended his father,” said Marcos Charles, an ICE official in Minneapolis.
“After conducting the arrest, my officers cared for him, took him to get something to eat from a drive-through restaurant, and spent hours ensuring he was taken care of. My officers did that, not his father.”
However, school officials said Liam was approached by ICE after arriving home from school, with his father in the driveway.
“Another adult living in the home was outside and begged the agents to let them take care of the small child, but was refused,” said Superintendent Zena Stenvik.
“Instead, the agent took the child out of the still-running vehicle, led him to the door, and directed him to knock—asking to be let in to see if anyone else was home—essentially using a 5-year-old as bait.”
Marc Prokosch, the family’s attorney, said Liam and his father “did everything right.”
“Liam and his dad did enter the United States at a port of entry to seek asylum through the CBP One app,” he said.
“They used the app. They made an appointment. They came to the border and presented themselves to Customs and Border Protection. They were just trying to secure safety from persecution for their family from their home country.”
Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino said the agency is “experts in dealing with children.”
“Over the past four years, hundreds of thousands of children are trafficked across that border. Guess who they came into contact with? Sometimes, who was the very first law enforcement agency or American citizen that they saw? Us. Border Patrol, followed by our counterparts at Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” he said.
Liam and his father are currently being held at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center near San Antonio, Texas.
This came as ICE no longer requires a warrant, allowing agents to forcibly enter homes.
At the same time, 2-year-old Chloe Renata Tipan Villacis and her father, Elvis Joel Tipan-Echeverria, were also detained by ICE in Minneapolis after returning home from the grocery store.
“A suspicious vehicle followed her father’s vehicle home, broke his window, and kidnapped them,” Minneapolis City Council member Jason Chavez wrote on Instagram.
“No judicial warrant was provided.”
DHS said Tipan-Echeverria is “an illegal immigrant from Ecuador who committed felony reentry and broke the laws of this nation.”
“Tipan-Echeverria later parked his vehicle and agents attempted to take him into custody, but he refused multiple lawful commands to open his door or lower his window,” the agency said.
“Agents took Tipan-Echeverria into custody and attempted to give the child to the mother, who was in the area, but she refused.”
A corrections officer in Portland, Maine, was later detained, with Cumberland County Sheriff Kevin Joyce confirming the arrest.
They all took off, leaving his car with the windows down, the lights on, unsecured and unoccupied,” Joyce said.
“They left it right on the side of the street. Folks, that’s bush-league policing.”
Joyce later said he initially agreed with Trump’s stance on immigration, but the arrest changed his views.
“We’re being told one story, which is totally different from what’s occurring or what occurred last night,” he said, adding the officer had a “squeaky clean” record.
“I guess if you’re not a card-carrying U.S. citizen, then you must be illegal, because that’s what they told me—he’s illegal, and he’s definitely not a criminal.”
Meanwhile, backlash grew over seven Democrats in the House of Representatives voting in favor of expanding DHS funding in an effort to avoid a government shutdown. Those lawmakers included Henry Cuellar, Tom Suozzi, Vicente Gonzalez, Laura Gillen, Marie Glusenkamp Perez, Jared Golden, and Don Davis.
In an X post, Suozzi wrote that supporting the bill was the “product of bipartisan negotiations and responsible governing” and would fund critical agencies without expanding ICE’s budget.
“I am voting for the Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill not to expand ICE enforcement or add more agents, but to fund the core operations Americans rely on every day—FEMA disaster response, TSA security, Customs and Border Protection, the Coast Guard, passport processing, and other essential services,” he wrote.
Health, Trade, and Lawsuits
Following a previous report from The Introspective detailing the United States’ withdrawal from more than 66 international organizations, including 31 associated with the United Nations, the U.S. announced it had left the World Health Organization, leading California to become the first state to join the organization’s Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network.
“As President Trump withdraws the United States from the World Health Organization, California is stepping up under Gov. Gavin Newsom—becoming the first, and currently the only, state to join the WHO’s Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network, strengthening public health preparedness and rapid response coordination,” a statement from Newsom’s office read.
Previous reports from The Introspective detailed the launch of the Western Health Alliance, independent of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), including Oregon, Washington and California. Another report highlighted Northeastern states—including New York, Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and Vermont—launching the Northeast Public Health Collaborative.
Trump later filed a $5 billion lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase and its CEO, Jamie Dimon, alleging the bank closed accounts following the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection for “political and social motivations.”
“In essence, JPMC debanked Plaintiffs’ Accounts because it believed that the political tide at the moment favored doing so,” the court filing read.
JPMorgan spokesperson Trish Wexler said the bank did not close the accounts for political reasons.
“JPMC does not close accounts for political or religious reasons. We do close accounts because they create legal or regulatory risk for the company. We regret having to do so, but often rules and regulatory expectations lead us to do so,” she said.
“We respect the president’s right to sue us and our right to defend ourselves—that’s what courts are for.”
JPMorgan Lawsuit
Meanwhile, as the trade war continues, Trump threatened a 100% tariff on Canada over a potential trade deal with China.
“If Prime Minister Carney thinks he is going to make Canada a ‘drop-off port’ for China to send goods and products into the United States, he is sorely mistaken,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“If Canada makes a deal with China, it will immediately be hit with a 100% tariff against all Canadian goods and products coming into the U.S.A.”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney previously made his first visit to China earlier this month.
The Introspective 
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