Pressure is mounting on the Trump administration to fully investigate the killing of 37-year-old nurse Alex Pretti by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis on Saturday.
Investigation Demanded After Shooting
Calls for an investigation have come from across the political spectrum after video analysis showed officers removed a handgun from Pretti – a weapon he was reportedly permitted to carry and was not handling – before fatally shooting him.
Republican U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy said the “credibility” of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) were “at stake.” Cassidy wrote on X that a “full joint federal and state investigation” is needed, adding, “We can trust the American people with the truth.”
Political Fallout and Funding Debate
Democratic lawmakers, including U.S. House member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer, both of New York, have called for federal immigration authorities to leave Minnesota. They are urging Senate Democrats to vote against funding the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE and border patrol, during upcoming budget negotiations.
“We have a responsibility to protect Americans from tyranny,” Ocasio-Cortez posted on X.
Senators Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Adam Schiff of California, both Democrats, announced Sunday morning they would vote against the impending Department of Homeland Security funding. Klobuchar cited the shooting of Pretti, as well as other incidents involving federal immigration agents, including instances where a two-year-old was separated from their mother and an elderly man was left outside in his underwear after being mistakenly targeted.
“When they’re killing two constituents in my state… no, I am not voting for this funding,” Klobuchar said on NBC’s Meet the Press.
Schiff stated he was “not giving ICE or border patrol another dime, given how these agencies are operating.” Schumer announced Saturday that Democrats would not provide the necessary votes for DHS funding if it remains in the current measure. A spokesperson for Senate majority leader John Thune said DHS and other government funds will be voted on as a single package, potentially leading to a partial government shutdown at the end of January if a compromise isn’t reached.
Connecticut U.S. Senator Chris Murphy, also a Democrat, told CNN’s State of the Union that Democrats “can’t vote to fund this lawless Department of Homeland Security… that is murdering American citizens, that is traumatizing little boys and girls all across the country, in violation of the law.”
Family and Administration Statements
Pretti’s parents, Michael and Susan, called for “the truth” to be told about their son, stating they were “heartbroken but also very angry” and condemning what they called “sickening lies” told by the administration.
Their statement came after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem claimed Pretti brandished a gun before agents fired “defensive shots.” Video evidence does not support this claim.
Klobuchar also said the Trump administration had described the shooting “in ways that simply aren’t true.”
Ongoing Investigation and Conflicting Accounts
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche stated on Meet the Press that “there’s obviously an investigation that’s ongoing.” He cautioned that videos of the encounter do not tell the whole story, stating, “We don’t know what happened in the minutes leading up to what we just watched. We don’t know what ICE saw, what ICE heard.”
Blanche reiterated the government’s position that anti-immigration enforcement protesters were not peaceful and were impeding ICE’s work. He added that the shooting was “entirely avoidable if we had a governor, if we had a mayor, if we had leadership in Washington and over in Minnesota that actually cared about their citizens.”
Border patrol commander-at-large Gregory Bovino questioned whether Pretti was truly unarmed, stating, “You don’t know he was unarmed… That’s freeze-frame adjudication of a crime scene via a photo. That’s why we have investigators.” When asked if he was blaming the victim, he responded, “The victims are the border [atrol agents.”
Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham stated that “an armed man trying to impede a lawful arrest is a recipe for disaster,” adding that he expects law enforcement to use good judgement but not to risk their lives.
Legal Action and Protests
Late Saturday, a federal judge issued an order blocking the Trump administration from “destroying or altering evidence” related to Pretti’s killing, following a lawsuit filed by Minnesota officials. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said the suit demands “a full, impartial, and transparent investigation” into the shooting.
Minneapolis police chief Brian O’Hara said information about the events leading up to the shooting was limited, noting that federal officers impeded state investigators from accessing the scene after the shooting.
Trump responded to the shooting with criticism of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, accusing them of “inciting Insurrection.” Vice-President JD Vance claimed the events in Minneapolis were “engineered chaos” resulting from “far-left agitators, working with local authorities.”
ICE and border patrol officials are scheduled to hold a news briefing in Minneapolis Sunday afternoon.
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