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The shooting death of a protester in Minneapolis by Immigration officers over the weekend has brought fresh criticism of ICE tactics and a defense by Homeland Security officials.
Video shows 37-year-old Alex Jeffrey Pretti struggling with ICE agents before being shot during an immigration enforcement operation early Saturday.
ICE says the shooting occurred while its agents were in the process of targeting an illegal immigrant with a criminal history.
Homeland Security officials said Pretti approached Border Patrol agents while armed with a 9mm pistol and “violently resisted” when they attempted to disarm him.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem called the shooting a tragic situation.
“The officers attempted to disarm this individual, but the armed suspect reacted violently. Fearing for his life and for the lives of his fellow officers around him, an agent fired defensive shots.”
Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino defended the agents, saying, “This looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.”
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz again called on the Trump administration to remove the thousands of immigration agents who have flooded the state in recent weeks.
Walz said, “Do I have any confidence Donald Trump will do the right thing? No, I don’t have a lot of confidence Donald Trump will do the right thing.”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey asked, “How many more residents, how many more Americans need to die or get badly hurt for this operation to end?”
President Trump responded with a Truth Social post accusing the mayor and governor of “inciting insurrection.”
And Noem said Walz and Frey need to cool their rhetoric. “They need to evaluate their rhetoric, their conversations, and their encouragement of such violence,” she said.
The shooting could now lead to a government shutdown, as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) says Democrats will not vote for the appropriations bill on January 31st if funding for Homeland Security is included.
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