US President Donald Trump suggested Wednesday that a "softer touch" may be needed on immigration, as his administration said 700 federal officers would be pulled from Minnesota but that mass deportations would not stop.

“I learned that maybe we could use a little bit of a softer touch. But you still have to be tough,” Trump told NBC News.

Two deaths, nationwide protests and falling approval ratings have turned a sanctuary city standoff into a potential political reckoning.

At least 8 states have either prohibited or set restrictions against local police and sheriff’s offices entering into 287(g) partnerships.

Democrats’ push to rein in federal agents, and Republican opposition, reflect opposite views of whether the deportation drive should be bound by standard law enforcement rules.

A bipartisan agreement on new restrictions for federal immigration operations in the next two weeks will be exceedingly difficult despite rare negotiations between Democrats and President Donald Trump.

Federal agents in the Twin Cities lately have been conducting more targeted immigration arrests at homes and neighborhoods, rather than staging in parking lots. The convoys have been harder to find and less aggressive.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said federal officials in Minneapolis will begin wearing body cameras "immediately," after the shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens during the crackdown in Minneapolis.