“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 said on his Truth Social network.

Minneapolis has been rocked by protests since Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents shot dead intensive care unit nurse Alex Pretti on Saturday, weeks after killing mother of three Renee Good.

Homan will be “managing ICE Operations on the ground in Minnesota to continue arresting the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on X.

Trump’s decision to send Homan could signal a fresh approach, as he reportedly favours a more targeted approach than the shock-and-awe immigration raids favoured by homeland security secretary Kristi Noem.

As outrage over the killing of 37-year-old Pretti grew, several senators from Trump’s Republican Party have called for a thorough probe into the killing, and for cooperation with local authorities.

Trump however also doubled down on his claims about alleged fraud by Somali immigrants in Minnesota, whom he has repeatedly targeted in a series of racially charged comments.

He said the justice department and Congress were “looking at” the finances of Ilhan Omar, a Democrat who is the first Somali-American elected to Congress, without providing details or evidence.