Politicians across the spectrum in the United States are looking for ways forward as public outrage intensifies in Minnesota.
As President Donald Trump sends in his "border czar", Democrats are weighing whether to trigger a partial government shutdown.
Here's what to know about how politicians are responding, and where the situation could go next.
First, catch me up
Protest activity has been ramping up in Minnesota's biggest city for weeks.
It stems from Mr Trump's efforts to massively increase the number of deportations carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Thousands of ICE agents have been patrolling the streets of Minneapolis, rounding up people they suspect are in the country illegally as part of "Operation Metro Surge".
[LINK: Where is Minneapolis?]Agents deployed as part of the operation have detained citizens by mistake and been accused of racial profiling and using children as "bait" to make arrests.
During a raid in the city's south in early January, an agent shot and killed Renee Nicole Good, who was at the scene as a legal observer — a volunteer who monitors government officers at protests and operations, and documents their interactions to deter misconduct.
Tensions, which had already been simmering, exploded over the incident.
On Friday, hundreds of businesses closed shop and tens of thousands of people marched through severely cold weather, calling for ICE to be removed from Minneapolis.
One day later, agents killed Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse, who had been participating in the protests.
What is ICE?
ICE is a law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
It's responsible for enforcing the US's immigration laws and is tasked with arresting people it believes are in the country illegally.
Has the National Guard been called in?
National Guard troops have been deployed in Minneapolis, but not under the same orders as with operations in other cities, where they were tasked with protecting ICE agents.
But courts blocked such deployments in Chicago and Portland last year, and the Trump administration lost a case over whether it was legally allowed to do so in California.
This may be why the Trump administration didn't attempt to deploy troops to do the same in Minnesota.
Instead, it was Minnesota Governor Tim Walz who called them in after Mr Pretti's death.
He has directed the troops to help provide security at the Whipple Federal Building, which is home to the federal court and an ICE detention centre.
They have also been spotted on the streets of Minneapolis, handing out coffee and donuts to protesters as a show of good faith.
Trump agrees 'situation can't continue'
The president has indicated he may rein in ICE operations in Minnesota.
He has spoken with local and state leaders, who have said the conversations were "productive".
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said Mr Trump agreed "the present situation can't continue".
In a separate call, Mr Walz said the president agreed to "look into reducing the number of federal agents" in the state.
"It was a very good call, and we, actually, seemed to be on a similar wavelength," Mr Trump wrote of his conversation with Mr Walz on Truth Social.
Border Patrol boss out, border czar in
In addition to speaking with Minnesotan leadership, Mr Trump said he would send "border czar" Tom Homan to the state.
Mr Trump has not provided any details on what Mr Homan will be doing but says he "will report directly to me".
The announcement comes off the back of news Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino and some of his agents will leave Minnesota imminently.
Mr Bovino will return to his former duties of overseeing US Customs and Border Protection operations in El Centro — a Californian city along the US-Mexico border, local media is reporting.
The Atlantic, which first broke the news, described the change as a "demotion" for Mr Bovino, and a sign the federal government was reconsidering its aggressive tactics.
"Some federal agents will begin leaving the area tomorrow, and I will continue pushing for the rest involved in this operation to go," Mr Frey said on Monday, local time.
What is a border czar?
Under past administrations, "border czar" was not an official title.
The term was generally used by media and commentators to refer to a politician who was tasked with managing illegal immigration.
Mr Trump made it an official position under his second administration.
"… Homan will be in charge of all deportation of illegal aliens back to their country of origin," he wrote in November 2024.
Who is Tom Homan?
Mr Homan has worked in immigration since 2013, when he was appointed by then-president Barack Obama.
He is considered a key architect of a policy that separated children from their caregivers as a way to discourage illegal border crossings under the first Trump administration, and has argued politicians who support sanctuary city policies should be criminally charged.
In September 2024, Mr Homan was reportedly filmed accepting $US50,000 ($72,296) in cash from undercover FBI agents posing as business executives.
The intelligence bureau was investigating allegations that Mr Homan was accepting bribes from border security companies in exchange for the promise of government contracts if Mr Trump returned to office.
A year later, that investigation was closed by the Department of Justice, which said there was insufficient evidence of wrongdoing.
Bondi sends list of demands
Hours after Mr Pretti was killed on Saturday, Attorney-General Pam Bondi sent a letter to Mr Walz, saying he could "restore the rule of law" in Minnesota by complying with a list of demands.
That included: allowing the federal government to investigate fraudulent claims in government services; cooperating with ICE operations; and handing over the state's voter registration records to the Department of Justice.
"… allow the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice to access voter rolls to confirm that Minnesota's voter registration practices comply with federal law as authorized by the Civil Rights Act of 1960," Ms Bondi said in the letter, which was first obtained by Fox News.
"Fulfilling this common sense (sic) request will better guarantee free and fair elections and boost confidence in the rule of law."
The Department of Justice has already requested this information from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and while several red states have complied, nearly all blue and purple states have not.
As a result, it filed lawsuits against 23 states and Washington, DC.
It has already lost three — in California, Georgia and Oregon.
Mark Elias, the partner of a firm representing voters in these cases, says the government wants the data to help influence the upcoming midterm elections.
"Donald Trump is obsessed with the midterms and will do whatever he needs to prevent losing control of Congress," he wrote for news site Democracy Docket, which discusses voting rights and elections in courts.
"Given his unpopularity, that likely means mass voter suppression, election subversion and outright election theft.
"To accomplish any of this at scale, he will need unredacted statewide voter ballots. That would allow him and Bondi to identify which voters to target, which ballots to discard, and against whom to lodge false claims of election fraud."
Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon echoed those sentiments in a statement released on Sunday.
"It is deeply disturbing that the US Attorney General would make this unlawful request a part of an apparent ransom to pay for our state's peace and security," he said.
What are midterm elections?
Midterm elections are where the makeup of the House of Representatives in Congress is decided.
They are due to be held in every state in November.
As a rule of thumb, the party that the sitting president belongs to usually loses seats at the midterms.
Because Republicans already only have a thin majority of five seats, this could freeze the party's ability to pass laws that align with Mr Trump's agenda.
As well as by seeking voter data, the Trump administration has attempted to insulate itself against this by directing Republican governors to go about redrawing their electoral maps to unfairly favour their party.
Blue states hit back by doing the same to benefit Democrats, triggering a gerrymandering arms race.
Democrats weigh another shutdown
Democrats in Congress have been considering their options to force the withdrawal of ICE agents from Minnesota.
Forcing a partial government shutdown has emerged as one of the party's most likely measures.
The Senate is set to vote on a $US1.2 trillion funding package this week, and if it doesn't pass, money will run out for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and many other critical agencies.
Democratic senators have vowed to vote against the sweeping government funding bill unless significant restrictions are imposed on the government's immigration enforcement operations.
What is a government shutdown?
It's when government agencies are temporarily shuttered due to a lack of funding.
Federal employees who are considered non-essential are put on leave without pay.
Those responsible for services deemed essential are required to continue working but won't get paid until after the shutdown ends.
Shutdowns tend to occur when there's a disagreement over the federal budget.
Congress has full control over how federal funding is allocated, and to decide where money goes, politicians vote on appropriations bills.
If those laws haven't been approved before current funding expires, government departments affected are forced to shutter while negotiations continue.
Would it stop ICE operations?
It's not likely to.
Under the DHS' shutdown plan, ICE employees would be considered "essential" and required to continue working, NBC has reported, citing an anonymous Republican source.
The agency also received a $US75 billion funding injection under Mr Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act last year, which could help buoy operations.
State, cities sue Trump administration
Minnesota and its two largest cities, Minneapolis and St Paul, sued the Trump administration on January 12.
The state accused the DHS of violating the First Amendment and other constitutional protections.
It is seeking a temporary restraining order to halt or limit immigration enforcement operations.
"This is, in essence, a federal invasion of the Twin Cities in Minnesota, and it must stop," state Attorney-General Keith Ellison said at a news conference at the time.
"These poorly trained, aggressive and armed agents of the federal state have terrorised Minnesota with widespread unlawful conduct."
US District Judge Katherine Menendez heard arguments in the case on Monday and questioned the government's motivation behind the crackdown.
"I mean, is there no limit to what the executive can do under the guise of enforcing immigration law?" she asked.
Brantley Mayers, a Department of Justice lawyer, said the government's goal is to enforce federal law.
But Justice Menendez questioned where the line was between the Constitution and the president's power to enforce the law.
The same day, a federal appeals court declined to overturn a temporary block issued by Justice Menendez in a separate case.
She had ruled then that federal officers in Minnesota could not detain or tear gas peaceful protesters who were not obstructing authorities, including legal observers.
ABC/AP
