A growing number of Republicans are pressing for a deeper investigation into federal immigration tactics after a U.S. Border Patrol agent fatally shot a man in Minneapolis. And those calls are a sign that the accounting of events by President Donald Trump’s administration may face bipartisan scru.
A growing number of Republicans are pressing for a deeper investigation into federal immigration tactics in Minnesota after a U.S. Border Patrol agent fatally shot a man in Minneapolis, a sign that the Trump administration’s accounting of events may face bipartisan scrutiny.
A host of other congressional Republicans, including Sens. Thom Tillis and Ted Budd of North Carolina, pressing for more information. Their statements, in addition to concern expressed from several Republican governors, reflected a party struggling with how to respond to Saturday’s fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse at a VA hospital.
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Trump administration officials were quick to cast Pretti as the instigator. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was among those who said Pretti “approached” immigration officers with a gun and acted violently. Videos from the scene show Pretti being pushed by an officer and then a half-dozen agents descend on him. During the scuffle, he is holding a phone but is never seen brandishing the 9mm semiautomatic handgun police say he was licensed to carry.
Tillis, who is not seeking reelection in 2026, was critical of both Noem and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, who, in the early hours after Pretti’s death, described the 37-year-old as an « assassin » who « tried to murder federal agents. »
« This guy, after doing the stupid comments he made about Greenland, getting the president in a difficult circumstance, is one of the people that came out publicly and said that this guy was a terrorist before he had even talked with anybody on the ground », Tillis said. « That’s clearly not the case now. »
The killing has raised uncomfortable questions about the GOP’s core positions on issues ranging from gun ownership to states’ rights and trust in the federal government.
In a statement on X, Budd said Pretti’s death never should have happened and that initial rushes to judgement « did not meet the standard that American’s should expect from their government officials. »
« I’d also like to remind federal leaders that words matter. Americans have a constitutional right to bear arms, and the mere possession of a firearm does not represent a threat justifying lethal force », Budd said.
Tillis went on to say that both Miller and Noem have destroyed the immigration issue for Republicans, saying Noem has taken a position that Republicans and the administration should own « into the ground. »
Both Tillis and Budd voted to confirm Noem into her role as DHS secretary. While Budd did not say if he supported Noem keeping her job, Tillis said both Noem and Miller would not be in the White House if he was president.
« We should own the issue of border security and immigration, but they have destroyed that for Republicans, something that got the president elected », Tillis said. « They have destroyed it through their incompetence. »
WRAL News in Raleigh reached out to DHS and the White House for a response related to Tillis’ comments and is waiting for a response.
Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska also have pressed for more information
House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Andrew Garbarino sought testimony from leaders at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection and U.
