As Minneapolis remains on edge after two fatal ICE-linked shootings, two very different voices have stepped into the national conversation — and the contrast could not be sharper.
Former President Joe Biden framed the protests as a moral reckoning, praising Minnesotans for standing up to what he called a betrayal of America’s most basic values.
“What has unfolded in Minneapolis this past month betrays our most basic values as Americans,” Biden wrote in a statement on the social platform X. “We are not a nation that guns down our citizens in the street. We are not a nation that allows our citizens to be brutalized for exercising their constitutional rights. We are not a nation that tramples the 4th Amendment and tolerates our neighbors being terrorized.”
He praised Minnesotans for helping each other “in unimaginable circumstances, speaking out against injustice when they see it, and holding our government accountable to the people.”
“Minnesotans have reminded us all what it is to be American, and they have suffered enough at the hands of this Administration,” Biden continued. “Violence and terror have no place in the United States of America, especially when it’s our own government targeting American citizens. No single person can destroy what America stands for and believes in, not even a President, if we — all of America — stand up and speak out. We know who we are.”
The former President called on “full, fair, and transparent investigations into the deaths of” Renee Good and Alex Pretti. An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer shot and killed Good earlier this month after administration officials claimed she attempted to hit the officer with her SUV, a claim that caused uproar and fuelled protests. Pretti died after a fatal shooting on Saturday involving US Border Patrol officers. Authorities said he was killed for approaching officers with a handgun, but video footage shows a phone in Pretti’s hand.
“Jill and I are sending strength to the families and communities who love Alex Pretti and Renee Good as we all mourn their senseless deaths,” Biden said, referring to former first lady Jill Biden.
Biden’s call to Minnesotans came days after former President Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama called Pretti’s death “a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.”
First Lady Melania Trump, by contrast, struck a quieter, calming note, urging unity and peaceful protest as the administration pushes to steady the situation.
In an interview with Fox News, she said: "I'm calling for unity. I know my husband, the president, had a great call yesterday with the governor and the mayor, and they're working together to make it peaceful and without riot. I'm against the violence, so please, if you protest, protest in peace. And we need to unify in this time."
It came after Minnesota's chief federal judge called for the acting director of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) to appear before him in court. Chief judge Patrick J Schilltz said the Trump administration failed to comply with orders to hold hearings for detained immigrants and wanted ICE director Todd Lyons to explain why he should not be held in contempt. Lyons was asked to personally appear in court.
The order came a day after President Donald Trump ordered "border tsar" Tom Homan to take over his administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota.
Trump previously said his administration was "reviewing everything" about the shooting of Alex Pretti, which came two weeks after the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good, also by an immigration agent. Videos from the scene showed Mr Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse, being pushed by an officer, and then several Border Patrol agents descended on him.
