US President Donald Trump has spoken to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz by phone. The call marks the first sign of de-escalation between Trump and Walz, who clashed over Trump’s deployment of ICE agents to Minneapolis.
The call took place on Monday, two days after US Border Patrol agents shot a 37-year-old US citizen dead at a protest in Minneapolis. The victim, who the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claims brandished a gun at the agents, is the second American killed since DHS ordered an extra 2,000 ICE, Border Patrol, and other federal agents to Minneapolis earlier this month.
“Governor Tim Walz called me with the request to work together with respect to Minnesota,” Trump posted on his Truth Social account. “It was a very good call, and we, actually, seemed to be on a similar wavelength.”
Trump told Walz that he wants authorities in Minnesota to hand over “any and all criminals that they have in their possession.” The president was likely referring to illegal immigrants who have committed crimes while in the US, as federal operations in Minnesota have specifically targeted this group.
Trump claimed that Walz “very respectfully” understood his request, and that the pair would speak “in the near future.”
Walz has so far refused to cooperate with federal immigration authorities and called on Trump to “pull these 3,000 untrained agents out of Minnesota before they kill another person” on Sunday. While it is unclear from Trump’s post whether Walz intends to comply with the president’s demands, the fact that the call took place at all suggests that both sides are interested in de-escalating tensions in Minneapolis.
The CEOs of 60 Minnesota-based companies called on Sunday for “an immediate deescalation of tensions and for state, local and federal officials to work together to find real solutions.” Trump used similar language when he called on Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey to “formally cooperate with the Trump Administration to enforce our Nation’s Laws, rather than resist and stoke the flames of Division, Chaos, and Violence.”
According to DHS, there are 1,360 criminal illegal aliens in state and local custody in Minnesota, while another 470 are on the loose after being released by Walz “and his fellow sanctuary politicians.” ICE says that it has arrested “3,000 criminal illegal aliens including vicious murderers, rapists, child pedophiles” since the first agents deployed to the state last month.
Trump claimed on Monday that “crime is way down” in Minnesota following the deployment. While Frey claims that ICE agents have made Minneapolis “less safe,” police statistics show a 76% drop in shootings and a 67% drop in homicides this month, compared to January 2025. Aggravated assaults, robberies, and vehicle thefts, however, have increased slightly.