(The Center Square) \u2013 Several Texas Republicans have expressed concerns about U.S. citizens being shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis. They did so after Alex Pretti, an intensive care unit nurse working with veterans, was shot and killed by a Border Patrol agent on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Gov. Greg Abbott weighed in on the situation in a radio interview<\/a>, pointing out the differences between immigration enforcement in Texas and Minnesota.<\/p>\n \u201cTexas actually ranks number one for ICE removals, and yet, we don’t have fighting and protests like that,\u201d he said, criticizing Minnesota officials. \u201cWhether it be the governor or local mayors or other local leaders, no one’s trying to incite violence here in the state of Texas \u2026 this is truly the problem in Minnesota: it\u2019s more about the lack of leadership and the lack of calming and order by the governor, by the mayor\u2026 I think they want it that way.\u201d<\/p>\n He also said the White House needed to \u201crecalibrate on what needs to be done\u201d and \u201cthat\u2019s not an easy task.\u201d He suggested the administration \u201cmaybe work from a different direction, to ensure that they get back to what they wanted to do to begin with; and go about their job in a more structured way, to make sure that they are going to be able to remove these people without causing all the kinds of problems and fighting in communities that they\u2019re experiencing right now.\u201d<\/p>\n President Donald Trump has since put border czar Tom Homan in charge of immigration enforcement in Minnesota. Homan discussed his plans at a Thursday morning press conference.<\/p>\n Homan, who has been a supporter of Abbott\u2019s border security efforts, Operation Lone Star, has regularly met with Texas troops and law enforcement at the border. After he was appointed border czar, Abbott said<\/a>, \u201cPresident Trump has selected a REAL Border Czar. Tom Homan will do exactly what’s needed to secure the border. There’s no one tougher on the border.\u201d<\/p>\n U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, expressed similar sentiments in his podcast.<\/a> He pointed out that there have been roughly 60,000 ICE arrests in Texas compared to 10,000 in Minnesota, yet \u201cwe’re not seeing violent confrontations with ICE in Texas.\u201d One main reason is because state and local officials, including the governor, legislature, mayors and police are cooperating with ICE, working with the federal immigration enforcement efforts, he said.<\/p>\n Another is because Abbott has been leading on border security efforts for years and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Minneapolis\u2019 mayor and local officials \u201chave all decided to use Tim Waltz’s words, \u2018go to war\u2019\u201d with ICE, he said. The protesters are organized, well-funded and operate similar to military groups, he added<\/a>, pointing to rioters using surveillance and attacking federal officials with their vehicles.<\/p>\n Cruz also called for a federal investigation into Pretti\u2019s death. \u201cAnytime there\u2019s a fatal encounter with law enforcement, there\u2019s cause for mourning and grief. That was somebody’s mother, brother or sister or father and \u2026 that is a tragedy. At the same time, we can ask what has caused these shootings, what has caused these violent encounters,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He also suggested that Trump administration officials tone down their language. After each U.S. citizen was killed, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem characterized them as \u201cdomestic terrorists.\u201d White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller described<\/a> Pretti as \u201can assassin\u201d who attempted to \u201cmurder federal agents.\u201d<\/p>\n “What I think the administration could do better is, is the tone with which they’re describing this,” Cruz said. “We took out a violent terrorist, hurray,\u201d referring to the characterization. \u201cThe problem is, particularly for someone not paying attention, if you’re being told this is a mom of three and there’s no indication, you know, she’s not waving an ISIS flag or, or, or doesn’t have a suicide vest around her, escalating the rhetoric doesn’t help. And it actually loses credibility.”<\/p>\n U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul also called for a congressional investigation and praised Homan being put in charge of operations in Minnesota. McCaul, a Republican who is retiring next year after serving two decades in Congress representing a central Texas region, chaired the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security. The committee has called for a hearing<\/a> to conduct oversight of several DHS agencies, including investigating the recent shootings.<\/p>\n \u201cI am troubled by the events that have unfolded in Minneapolis,\u201d McCaul said<\/a> after Pretti\u2019s death. \u201cAs an attorney and former federal prosecutor, I believe a thorough investigation is necessary \u2013 both to get to the bottom of these incidents and to maintain Americans\u2019 confidence in our justice system. I look forward to hearing from DHS officials about what happened here and how we can prevent further escalation in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n