Georgia lawmakers react after Border Patrol agent kills man in Minneapolis
A fatal shooting by a federal immigration agent in Minneapolis over the weekend is drawing sharp reactions from Georgia lawmakers. Their responses come as the national debate over Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the growing federal presence in U.S. cities continues.
Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse at the Department of Veterans Affairs, was shot and killed around 9 a.m. Saturday in south Minneapolis by a U.S. Border Patrol agent. The shooting comes less than three weeks after Renee Good was fatally shot in the same city by an ICE agent. The Department of Homeland Security said the agent acted in self-defense while attempting to disarm Pretti, but local officials disputed that account and criticized what they described as a federal immigration surge. A bystander video showed Pretti holding a cellphone, not a gun, before the shooting.
The incident prompted immediate and forceful responses from members of Georgia's congressional delegation, who are sharply divided over the role of ICE and federal immigration enforcement.
Sen. Raphael Warnock
"Another tragedy out of Minnesota. Another life lost," Warnock said. "We must take action to get this rogue agency in check. And we need to do it now. Our rights as Americans are at stake."
Warnock said he would vote against funding for ICE, saying, "They are killing Americans. Detaining children. Trampling our freedoms. We are losing our humanity."
Calling the moment a "defining moment for our nation," Warnock said, "They just took food away from hungry families to pay for a militarized police force that is killing people and ripping families apart. It's a moral tragedy. Trump has turned our streets into a war zone."
Sen. Jon Ossoff
Ossoff said the shooting comes amid "growing shock and outrage" over what he described as massive federal deployments in American cities.
"In recent weeks, masked Federal agents have killed and assaulted American citizens, detained American citizens without cause, raided Americans' homes without a judge's warrant, and set up police checkpoints to demand Americans' identification papers," Ossoff said.
He challenged his Republican opponents to condemn what he called abuses of civil liberties, saying, "Americans left, right, and center are shocked by the Trump Administration's abuses of civil liberties and police state tactics."
"My opponents have a clear choice: do they stand with Trump or with Americans' constitutional rights?" Ossoff said.
Rep. Buddy Carter
Carter defended ICE and federal law enforcement, placing blame on Democratic leaders.
"ICE has every right to defend itself," Carter said. "The violence we are seeing against law enforcement is the direct result of politicians like Jon Ossoff who demonize them for doing their job to keep our cities safe."
Carter said that without ICE operations in Minneapolis, "the 12,000 criminals that they've removed would still roam free, leading to much more violence than what we are seeing on the streets today."
In an OpEd published in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution earlier this month, Carter called for a stronger ICE presence in Georgia, saying, "We can't wait for another Laken Riley before we do something about the half a million illegal immigrants in Georgia."
Rep. Mike Collins
Collins urged the public not to interfere with law enforcement.
"Please do not fight with or interfere with law enforcement doing their job," Collins said. "Please do not fight with or interfere with law enforcement doing their job and be armed while doing so."
Rep. Nikema Williams
Williams sharply criticized ICE following the Minneapolis shooting.
"Federal ICE agents executed a bystander in broad daylight this morning in Minneapolis," Williams said. "This horrific violence is precisely why I voted NO to more funding for ICE."
She called for the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and said ICE should be dismantled.
Last week, Williams said she would not support funding the Department of Homeland Security while ICE "continues its terror campaign."
Rep. Hank Johnson
Johnson called for criminal charges and the dismantling of ICE.
"This needs to stop," Johnson said. "These goons need to be charged with murder, ICE must be abolished, and every single official involved should be held accountable."
"My heart goes out to Alex Pretti's family and friends," he added.
Johnson said earlier this month that he voted against continued funding for ICE raids, calling them "ruthless."
Rep. David Scott
Scott said ICE operations under Secretary Noem's leadership have included "multiple shootings of civilians," including fatal encounters in Minneapolis.
"In some cases, DHS officials have deeply contradicted first-hand accounts and video evidence," Scott said, raising concerns about use of force and oversight.
Scott said the "militarization of ICE is eroding trust in our government and tearing families apart," and called for an independent investigation, accountability, and an immediate end to militarized immigration raids.
Rep. Sanford D. Bishop Jr.
In a statement opposing the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, Bishop said the Trump administration claimed its deportation efforts would focus on violent felons, but ICE has instead "aggressively swept up American citizens and law-abiding immigrant families."
"Activities by ICE over the past few months on streets in communities across the country cry out for guardrails and accountability," Bishop said.
He said Democrats pushed for judicial warrant requirements, limits on excessive force, body cameras, and a ban on masks, but without those protections, he could not support the funding bill.
"Though I support the mission and purpose of DHS and ICE," Bishop said, "today's bill lacked the protections we need to ensure the public's trust and safety."