Federal prosecutors in Minneapolis have told U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen — the Trump administration appointee leading the office — that they are deeply frustrated with the Justice Department’s handling of the fatal shootings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti by immigration officers. Some prosecutors suggested they could resign en masse, a move that would leave the office unable to manage its current caseload, according to two officials familiar with internal discussions.
At least one prosecutor in the office’s criminal division has resigned since a meeting this week in which prosecutors raised their concerns with Rosen, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a personnel issue that has not been publicly disclosed.
The threat of further resignations is the latest sign of mounting strain on Minnesota’s federal judicial system amid the administration’s immigration enforcement surge. On Wednesday, the state’s chief federal district judge wrote that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials had violated 96 court orders since launching the Minnesota crackdown, dubbed Operation Metro Surge.
“ICE has likely violated more court orders in January 2026 than some federal agencies have violated in their entire existence,” Chief U.S. District Judge Patrick J. Schiltz wrote.
A Justice Department spokesperson, asked about the prosecutors’ concerns, pointed to Attorney General Pam Bondi’s February 2025 “zealous advocacy” memo, which warns that attorneys could face discipline or termination if they are not “vigorously defending presidential policies.”
Office Turmoil After Good and Pretti Shootings
The Minnesota U.S. attorney’s office has been in upheaval since the administration sidelined it in investigations related to the shootings of Good and Pretti, who were killed about 2½ weeks apart during confrontations with immigration officers in Minneapolis.
Earlier this month, at least a half-dozen prosecutors — including the office’s second-in-command — resigned after senior Justice Department officials instructed prosecutors not to investigate the shooting of Good and instead pursue a case against her partner, according to the officials.
Following those departures, the Justice Department sent prosecutors from other Midwestern states to help address the growing caseload in Minnesota. Even so, the staffing crisis is expected to worsen in coming weeks as additional prosecutors in both the criminal and civil divisions consider leaving.
The Minnesota U.S. attorney’s office is now down to about half of its full staffing level of roughly 70 lawyers. Some of the departures occurred in the final months of the Biden administration, before President Donald Trump took office.
Confusion Over Who Leads the Pretti Probe
When Pretti was shot by immigration officials on Jan. 24, Trump administration officials said the Department of Homeland Security would lead the investigation — a decision that reportedly fueled confusion and frustration among prosecutors in Minneapolis who believed they should play a role.
Both the Good and Pretti shootings were captured on cellphone video and have sparked outrage from Democrats and Republicans amid the broader debate over the administration’s immigration crackdown.
Typically, federal investigations into officer-involved shootings include FBI agents and both criminal and civil rights prosecutors. Federal use-of-force inquiries are generally treated as civil rights investigations because the relevant statute concerns deprivation of rights “under color of law.”
The Washington Post previously reported that the FBI briefly opened a civil rights investigation into the Good shooting before changing course.
Enforcement Surge, Rising Caseloads, and DOJ Staffing Shortfalls
The immigration enforcement push has strained U.S. attorney’s offices nationwide. Criminal prosecutors are dealing with a wave of cases involving allegations that residents impeded immigration officers. Civil attorneys, meanwhile, are being inundated with petitions from immigrants challenging their detentions.
The Justice Department is also confronting staffing shortages at its Washington headquarters and in U.S. attorney’s offices across the country. In 2024, roughly 10,000 attorneys worked across the department and its components, including the FBI. In 2025, Justice Connection — an advocacy group tracking departures — estimated that at least 5,500 people (not all of them attorneys) had quit, been fired, or taken buyouts offered by the Trump administration.
