Conflicting accounts, internal power battles and false claims have thrown the agency into turmoil after Alex Pretti’s death.
The fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis has plunged the Department of Homeland Security into a deep internal crisis, exposing power struggles, conflicting directives and false public claims at the highest levels of the Trump administration.
In the days following the shooting, senior officials scrambled to control the fallout. A Border Patrol chief leading the operation was sidelined, the homeland security secretary rushed to the White House amid calls for her resignation, and top advisers questioned whether agents had violated protocol.
The turmoil has shaken morale across the department, according to current and former officials, who describe growing frustration and disillusionment inside the agency responsible for protecting the country from domestic and foreign threats.
The crisis intensified after administration officials falsely claimed that Pretti was armed and labeled him a domestic terrorist — assertions later undermined by internal reviews and video evidence. Despite those discrepancies, no senior official has been held accountable.
Behind the scenes, the episode has exposed a fierce internal battle over who controls immigration enforcement, with overlapping authority among the homeland security secretary, the White House, the border czar and senior advisers close to President Trump.
Members of Congress from both parties have questioned the department’s leadership and called for independent investigations, warning that the chaos threatens public trust in federal law enforcement.
“For people to have confidence in government, we have to tell the truth,” Senator Rand Paul said.
