{"id":438043,"date":"2026-01-26T06:42:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-26T06:42:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/438043\/"},"modified":"2026-01-26T06:42:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T06:42:13","slug":"minnesota-shooting-exposes-growing-republican-concerns-over-ice-tactics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/438043\/","title":{"rendered":"Minnesota shooting exposes growing Republican concerns over ICE tactics"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Michael<\/p>\n

January 26, 2026 \u2014 2:03pm<\/p>\n

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Minneapolis: Former Democratic presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have issued a rallying cry to Americans to stand up to the Trump administration over the killing of two citizens by federal immigration agents, warning it is a watershed moment in US history.<\/p>\n

The intervention comes as some Republicans grow increasingly concerned about overreach by immigration enforcement squads and demand an independent investigation into Saturday\u2019s fatal shooting of Minneapolis nurse Alex Pretti<\/a> \u2013 the second US citizen killed<\/a> by federal agents in that city this month.<\/p>\n

\"FormerFormer Democratic presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton have both issued statements over the situation unfolding in Minnesota. AP<\/p>\n

One day after the tragedy, officials were still unable to say whether the 37-year-old, who was observing and documenting an immigration enforcement operation, pulled out his gun during the fatal encounter.<\/p>\n

Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino, who in the immediate aftermath of the incident asserted that Pretti was intending to \u201cmassacre\u201d law enforcement officers, was asked several times in an interview with CNN whether the nurse brandished his weapon.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s going to come to light through the investigation,\u201d Bovino said. He accused Pretti of impeding a law enforcement operation by virtue of his presence at the scene and said he should not have brought a gun to a \u201criot\u201d \u2013 although filming such an operation is legal, and Pretti was licensed to carry a firearm in Minnesota.<\/p>\n

Footage filmed by bystanders appears to contradict the administration\u2019s explanation. It shows Pretti approaching agents while holding a phone before they wrestle him to the ground. An officer then appears to pull a handgun away from Pretti before another agent fires numerous lethal shots.<\/p>\n

Warning: Video may distress some viewers<\/p>\n

Bovino told CNN the exact sequence of events was not yet known and would be confirmed by an investigation.<\/p>\n

But at a news conference, Minnesota Attorney-General Keith Ellison said federal authorities had again blocked local police from accessing the crime scene and investigative files, as occurred following the fatal shooting of Renee Good<\/a> on January 7.<\/p>\n

The state of Minnesota successfully sought a court order to restrain federal authorities from destroying or tampering with evidence from the Pretti shooting. \u201cWe are in uncharted territory,\u201d Ellison said. \u201cWe\u2019ve never had to do anything like this before.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a bold statement, Clinton, a centrist Democrat from the south who was president from 1993 to 2001, said he never thought he would witness the scenes that had played out in Minneapolis over the past three weeks.<\/p>\n

\"BorderBorder Patrol commander Greg Bovino accused Alex Pretti of impeding a law enforcement operation by virtue of his presence at the scene.AP<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople, including children, have been seized from their homes, workplaces and the street by masked federal agents,\u201d he said. \u201cPeaceful protesters and citizens exercising their constitutional right to observe and document law enforcement have been arrested, beaten, teargassed, and most searingly, in the case of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, shot and killed.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of this is unacceptable and should have been avoided. To make matters worse, at every turn, the people in charge have lied to us, told us not to believe what we\u2019ve seen with our own eyes, and pushed increasingly aggressive and antagonistic tactics, including impeding investigations by local authorities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clinton said the country was at a seismic juncture. \u201cOver the course of a lifetime, we face only a few moments where the decisions we make and the actions we take will shape our history for years to come. This is one of them. If we give our freedoms away after 250 years, we might never get them back.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a joint statement with his wife Michelle, Obama said Pretti\u2019s death should be \u201ca wake-up call\u201d that American values were under assault, and called on the Trump administration to reconsider its approach. \u201cThis has to stop,\u201d the Obamas said.<\/p>\n

Republican senators Lisa Murkowski and Thom Thillis were among those calling for an independent probe into what happened amid rising concern about tactics used by ICE agents as they attempt to execute the biggest mass deportation in US history under orders from the Trump administration.<\/p>\n

Murkowski said Pretti\u2019s death raised serious questions about the adequacy of training given to ICE officers and the instructions they received. \u201cLawfully carrying a firearm does not justify federal agents killing an American \u2013 especially, as video footage appears to show, after the victim had been disarmed,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Tillis said: \u201cAny administration official who rushes to judgment and tries to shut down an investigation before it begins are doing an incredible disservice to the nation and to President Trump\u2019s legacy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Republicans in Congress have already reiterated their requests for ICE and Border Patrol leadership to testify before a broader inquiry into their operations.<\/p>\n

\"AA photo of Alex Pretti at a memorial set up in his honour in Minneapolis.Getty<\/p>\n

Congressman James Comer, a staunch Trump ally and chair of the House oversight committee, defended ICE but said the president should consider sending them elsewhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the mayor and governor are going to put our ICE officials in harm\u2019s way, and there\u2019s a chance of losing more innocent lives or whatever, maybe go to another city and let the people of Minneapolis decide, \u2018Do we want to continue to have all these illegals?\u2019\u201d Comer said on Fox News.<\/p>\n

Tim Walz, the Democratic governor of Minnesota, doubled down on his calls for peaceful resistance to ICE. He invoked Nazi Germany and the diaries of Anne Frank, who hid from the Gestapo in an Amsterdam attic before being taken to a concentration camp.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have got children in Minnesota hiding in their houses, afraid to go outside,\u201d Walz said. \u201cMany of us grew up reading that story of Anne Frank. Somebody\u2019s going to write that children\u2019s story about Minnesota.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"MinnesotaMinnesota Governor Tim Walz, right, and Attorney-General Keith Ellison discuss the shooting.AP<\/p>\n

Some conservatives were critical of Walz for exacerbating tensions. Vice President JD Vance said Minnesota\u2019s Democrat leaders \u201ccreated the chaos so they can have moments like yesterday, where someone tragically dies and politicians get to grandstand\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe solution is staring everyone in the face. I hope authorities in Minneapolis stop this madness,\u201d Vance said.<\/p>\n

Trump has largely avoided commenting directly on the circumstances of Pretti\u2019s death but reiterated demands for Minnesota to co-operate with ICE.<\/p>\n

In a lengthy statement posted to social media, he called for Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey to turn over any \u201ccriminal illegal aliens\u201d currently in prison, as well as any with an active warrant or known criminal history, for immediate deportation.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

He also urged the state to hand over undocumented immigrants arrested by local police, and for police to assist law enforcement in apprehending and detaining those wanted for crimes.<\/p>\n

In Minneapolis, crowds grew over the day at the site where Pretti was killed. People dropped flowers, photographs and cardboard signs at a makeshift memorial. Most people stood and observed in silence, while some delivered speeches, recited prayers or led the crowd in chants.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Protesters<\/a><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, hundreds of demonstrators gathered in downtown Minneapolis for a snap rally, vowing to keep up protests and economic blackouts as they fight to get ICE out of the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat they\u2019re doing to us right now is totally f—ed, it\u2019s wrong, and we need them out of here,\u201d said 69-year-old Carolyn Pare, a former Minnesotan who now lives in neighbouring Wisconsin.<\/p>\n

Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what\u2019s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"MichaelMichael Koziol<\/a> is the North America correspondent for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former Sydney editor, Sun-Herald deputy editor and a federal political reporter in Canberra.Connect via Twitter<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners