Minneapolis, Minnesota - A federal judge in Minnesota will consider Monday whether to halt the deployment of thousands of immigration agents who have terrorized the state, after the killings of two citizens sparked uproar.

Minneapolis has been rocked by increasingly tense protests since an ICE agent fatally shot Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother-of-three, on January 7.

On Saturday, ICE agents shot dead intensive care nurse Alex Pretti, also 37.

Thousands of federal immigration agents have been deployed for weeks to the state, after media reports sparked a racist frenzy against Somali immigrants, which President Donald Trump has seized upon.

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The US District Court for Minnesota will hold hearings in two key lawsuits Monday, as pressure mounts for an independent investigation into the killings.

In one case, Minnesota's attorney general has asked a federal judge to halt the surge of ICE agents to the area.

The other case focuses on stopping federal officials from destroying evidence related to Pretti's killing. Local authorities have been repeatedly blocked from accessing the scene and participating in investigations.

Trump, who has vowed to arrest and deport "millions" of undocumented people, quickly defended the immigration agents who fired the shots that killed Good and Pretti, claiming without evidence they had intended to harm federal agents.

But he later declined to say whether the officer who shot Pretti had acted appropriately and said his administration was reviewing the incident.

"We're looking, we're reviewing everything and will come out with a determination," Trump told the Wall Street Journal in a brief interview on Sunday.

He said ICE agents would leave Minneapolis "at some point", without giving a time frame.

Multiple senators from Trump's Republican Party have called for a thorough probe into the killing, and for cooperation with local authorities.