MINNEAPOLIS: The Trump administration said Wednesday that two immigration agents involved in the fatal shooting of a civilian in Minneapolis had been placed on leave, as the president slammed the city&rsquo;s mayor despite a promise to de-escalate the situation. The officers have been on leave &mdash; a move US officials said was &quot;standard protocol&quot; &mdash; since Saturday, when Alex Pretti was shot multiple times after being forced to the ground by camouflaged officers in a scuffle captured on video. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he wanted to &quot;de-escalate a little bit&quot; in Minneapolis, the focal point for tensions over his hardline immigration crackdown. Yet on Wednesday, the 79-year-old Republican attacked the mayor of Minneapolis, saying that his refusal to cooperate with federal authorities on rooting out suspected illegal immigrants was &quot;a very serious violation of the law.&quot; Mayor Jacob Frey is &quot;playing with fire,&quot; Trump said on social media. Saturday&#39;s fatal shooting of Pretti, an intensive care nurse, was widely condemned across the political aisle despite initial efforts by White House officials to justify the killing. In a bid to stem the backlash, Trump shuffled the leadership of immigration agents deployed in Minneapolis. He replaced the confrontational Greg Bovino, famed for reveling in aggressive, televised immigration crackdowns, with the policy-focused &quot;border czar&quot; Tom Homan. Another high-ranking official, Attorney General Pam Bondi, was in Minneapolis on Wednesday as she announced the arrests of 16 Minnesota &quot;rioters&quot; for allegedly assaulting federal law enforcement. Fury&nbsp;While the White House insists that it is targeting hardened criminals, the use of masked, heavily armed men to snatch people from streets, homes, and workplaces has caused widespread shock. That turned to fury this month after immigration agents shot dead two Minneapolis protesters at point-blank range in separate incidents &mdash; Pretti and Renee Good, both US citizens. Top Trump aide Stephen Miller initially justified Pretti&#39;s killing by branding him a &quot;would-be assassin,&quot; despite video evidence clearly showing the 37-year-old man posed no threat when he was shot in the back while pinned down on the ground. Late Tuesday, Miller said the Customs and Border Patrol agents who killed Pretti &quot;may not have been following protocol.&quot; Seeking to distance himself from the fallout, Trump also struck a more conciliatory tone Tuesday. However, Trump said there was no plan for a &quot;pullback,&quot; and he has rejected calls to sack his loyal Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. In Minneapolis, 39-year-old community activist Jennifer Arnold told AFP little has changed since Trump promised to ease tensions in the city. &quot;The Trump administration is saying that they&#39;re going to change tactics ... but we are not experiencing anything different on the ground, people are still being snatched off the streets,&quot; said Arnold. Immigrant politician attacked&nbsp;The political battle could soon move to Congress, where Democrats are threatening to hold up authorization for swaths of US government funding if reforms are not made to rein in the sprawling military-style immigration agencies. Meanwhile, the president of the Roman Catholic bishops&#39; conference in the United States called on priests to offer a time of prayer on Wednesday following the fatal shootings in Minneapolis. Trump&#39;s focus on Minnesota is linked to a probe into alleged corruption by Somali immigrants in the state, which he and right-wing allies have amplified as an example of what they say is a fight against criminal immigrants. The president has made a particular target of Somali-born congresswoman Ilhan Omar, whom he routinely insults in speeches and says should be sent back to Somalia. In the latest sign of a deteriorating political climate, a man sprayed Omar with an unknown liquid while she was giving a speech late Tuesday, before being tackled by security. The suspect, 55-year-old Anthony Kazmierczak, was arrested on suspicion of assault. CNN reported that the liquid was likely apple cider vinegar, citing a law enforcement source. Speaking to reporters in Minneapolis on Wednesday evening, Omar Trump&#39;s attacks against her helped fuel the incident. &quot;I wouldn&#39;t be where I am at today, having to pay for security, having the government to think about providing me security if Donald Trump wasn&#39;t in office, and if he wasn&#39;t so obsessed with me,&quot; Omar said. She added, however, that such intimidation &quot;hasn&#39;t worked thus far, and it&#39;s not going to work in the future.&quot;

Americas

The officers have been on leave, a move US officials said was 'standard protocol,' since Saturday, when Alex Pretti was shot multiple times after being forced to the ground by camouflaged officers in a scuffle captured on video.

Trump battles Minneapolis shooting fallout as agents put on leave

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: The recent arrests of three high-profile Afghan threats within a week highlight the urgent need to reassess individuals admitted to the US under Operation Allies Welcome and Operation Enduring Welcome, as emphasized by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Todd Lyons in a comment to a private television. A post on X by the US ICE shared Lyons&#39;s comment from Wednesday.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1998747749194354721&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fsections%2F&sessionId=007c6f11278702c7f4857965668ba2f2061f9bc9&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 672px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;"></iframe></div></div>Lyons said, &ldquo;You know, ISIS is an organization and agency that was born out of 9-11. So that&#39;s our main mission, right, is counterterrorism, national security.&rdquo; &lsquo;Nothing like that ever happens again&rsquo;&nbsp;&ldquo;So, we want to ensure that nothing like that ever happens again, especially on a day like, you know, Pearl Harbor Day, right, that we want to make sure there are no surprise attacks ever again.&rdquo; &ldquo;You know, this individual, member of ISIS-K, he was supplying weapons to his father, who is still an Afghan national and a commander in the Taliban in Afghanistan to this day,&rdquo; Lyons added. The ICE acting director said, &ldquo;He was arrested right down a few miles from here in the capital, in Waynesboro.&rdquo; &lsquo;Go back and re-vet&rsquo;&nbsp;&ldquo;You know, the same week we arrested this individual, we had the individual that shot the National Guardsmen, and then we also had the individual, another Afghan, who came in on the Operation Allies Welcome, who tried a weapon of mass destruction attack at the Air Force Joint Base in Fort Worth, Texas.&rdquo; &ldquo;So, ICE has to go ahead and go back and re-vet these individuals.&rdquo; Lyons said, &ldquo;We have to look at who we let in, because there&rsquo;s over 190,000 of these Allied Welcomes Operation candidates that came in, that we have to go back and properly look at them.&rdquo;

Recent arrests of Afghan individuals in the US have raised concerns about Operation Allies Welcome and Enduring Welcome; ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons stressed the need for re-vetting evacuees to ensure national security.

Spate of Afghan threat arrests spurs scrutiny of Operation Allies Welcome 

<p style='box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: calc(-6px + 1.75rem); padding: 0.2rem 0px 0.8rem; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: "AP Font", "AP Font Local", Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;' id="isPasted">Apple has taken down an app that uses crowdsourcing to flag sightings of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/portland-chicago-memphis-federal-crackdowns-trump-7a45dcf0e7e2bd7debb38603e5b4f660" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 84, 189); text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer; font-size: inherit; outline: none;">U.S. immigration agents</a> after coming under pressure from the Trump administration.<p style='box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: calc(-6px + 1.75rem); padding: 0.2rem 0px 0.8rem; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: "AP Font", "AP Font Local", Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;'>ICEBlock, a free iPhone-only app that lets users anonymously report and monitor activity by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, was no longer available on Apple&#39;s App Store as of Friday. The developer had confirmed its removal on Thursday evening.<p style='box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: calc(-6px + 1.75rem); padding: 0.2rem 0px 0.8rem; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: "AP Font", "AP Font Local", Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;'>&ldquo;We just received a message from Apple&rsquo;s App Review that&nbsp;<a href="https://bsky.app/hashtag/ICEBlock" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 84, 189); text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer; font-size: inherit; outline: none;">#ICEBlock</a> has been removed from the App Store due to &ldquo;objectionable content&#39;,&rdquo; ICEBlock said in a social media post. &ldquo;The only thing we can imagine is this is due to pressure from the Trump Admin. We have responded and we&rsquo;ll fight this!&quot;<p style='box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: calc(-6px + 1.75rem); padding: 0.2rem 0px 0.8rem; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: "AP Font", "AP Font Local", Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;'>The developer said last month that it had more than 1 million users. Even though it has been removed from the app marketplace, those who have already downloaded the app should still be able to use it.<p style='box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: calc(-6px + 1.75rem); padding: 0.2rem 0px 0.8rem; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: "AP Font", "AP Font Local", Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;'>The Associated Press reached out to ICEBlock for further comments on Friday.<p style='box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: calc(-6px + 1.75rem); padding: 0.2rem 0px 0.8rem; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: "AP Font", "AP Font Local", Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;'>Apple said it removed apps like ICEBlock due to the potential for risks that were raised by law enforcement.<p style='box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: calc(-6px + 1.75rem); padding: 0.2rem 0px 0.8rem; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: "AP Font", "AP Font Local", Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;'>&ldquo;We created the App Store to be a safe and trusted place to discover apps,&quot; the company said in a statement. &ldquo;Based on information we&rsquo;ve received from law enforcement about the safety risks associated with ICEBlock, we have removed it and similar apps from the App Store.&rdquo;<p style='box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: calc(-6px + 1.75rem); padding: 0.2rem 0px 0.8rem; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: "AP Font", "AP Font Local", Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;'>U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi confirmed that her office had reached out to Apple on Thursday &ldquo;demanding that they remove ICEBlock from their App Store.&quot; In a statement sent to The Associated Press, she claimed that ICEBlock was &ldquo;designed to put ICE agents at risk just for doing their jobs.&rdquo;<p style='box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: calc(-6px + 1.75rem); padding: 0.2rem 0px 0.8rem; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: "AP Font", "AP Font Local", Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;'>Officials said last month that a gunman who opened fire on an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/dallas-ice-shooting-update-immigration-0631d82e4fd0b1f6e3309e6e8aa83d1e" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 84, 189); text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer; font-size: inherit; outline: none;">ICE facility</a> in Dallas had searched for apps that tracked the presence of ICE agents.<p style='box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: calc(-6px + 1.75rem); padding: 0.2rem 0px 0.8rem; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: "AP Font", "AP Font Local", Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;'>Bondi has previously said that crowdsourced apps that allow people to communicate about the location of law enforcement officers is not allowed &mdash; specifically referring to ICEBlock developer Joshua Aaron in a July interview on Fox News.<p style='box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: calc(-6px + 1.75rem); padding: 0.2rem 0px 0.8rem; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: "AP Font", "AP Font Local", Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;'>&ldquo;We are looking at him and he better watch out because that&rsquo;s not a protected speech,&rdquo; Bondi said at the time.<p style='box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: calc(-6px + 1.75rem); padding: 0.2rem 0px 0.8rem; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: "AP Font", "AP Font Local", Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;'>But advocates say that tracking ICE activity is a form of free speech protected by the First amendment. They maintain that such platforms are primarily used among individuals looking to protect themselves from surprise raids or potential harassment from immigration officials.<p style='box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: calc(-6px + 1.75rem); padding: 0.2rem 0px 0.8rem; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: "AP Font", "AP Font Local", Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;'>Downloads of apps like ICEblock have surged as the Trump administration steps up immigration enforcement.<p style='box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: calc(-6px + 1.75rem); padding: 0.2rem 0px 0.8rem; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: "AP Font", "AP Font Local", Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;'>ICEBlock and other crowdsourcing apps like it are being targeted, but crowdsourced technology has become common in the app store, and is still available through other apps.<p style='box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: calc(-6px + 1.75rem); padding: 0.2rem 0px 0.8rem; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: "AP Font", "AP Font Local", Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;'>Navigation apps like Waze or Google Maps for Android phones have been in use for years. Part of their draw is that users are alerted to police speed traps by other drivers. Users of those apps have suggested they can be used to post updates about &ldquo;icy conditions.&rdquo;

Gadgets

Artificial Intelligence

Apple has taken down an app that uses crowdsourcing to flag sightings of U.S. immigration agents after coming under pressure from the Trump administration

Apple removes apps enabling anonymous reporting of ICE agent sightings

DALLAS: A shooter with a rifle opened fire from a nearby roof onto a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement location in Dallas on Wednesday, killing two detainees and wounding another before taking his own life, authorities said.The exact motivation of the attack was not immediately known. The FBI said at a morning news conference that ammunition found at the scene contained anti-ICE messaging.The head of the agency, Kash Patel, released a photo on social media that shows a bullet containing the words &ldquo;ANTI-ICE&rdquo; written in what appears to be marker.&ldquo;The shooter fired indiscriminately at the ICE building, including at a van in the sallyport where the victims were shot,&rdquo; the Department of Homeland Security said in a release.The detainee who survived was in critical condition at a hospital, DHS said.

A shooter with a rifle opened fire from a nearby roof onto a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement location in Dallas on Wednesday, killing two detainees and wounding another before taking his own life.

Articles tagged with "ICE"

Trump battles Minneapolis shooting fallout as agents put on leave

Spate of Afghan threat arrests spurs scrutiny of Operation Allies Welcome

Apple removes apps enabling anonymous reporting of ICE agent sightings

Two detainees killed, one critical in Dallas ICE shooting