Legacy civil rights leaders are urging the U.S. Senate to block funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security, citing a pattern of deadly federal enforcement actions as shown by two fatal shootings in Minneapolis this month.
In a Jan. 26 statement, the coalition condemned the killing of 37-year-old intensive care nurse Alex Pretti by federal agents during an immigration enforcement operation on Jan. 24 in Minneapolis. Pretti’s death came just weeks after 37-year-old Minnesota resident Renee Nicole Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent on Jan. 7. Both deaths have sparked widespread protest and legal scrutiny.
Pretti, a licensed gun owner with no significant criminal history and a U.S. citizen, was reportedly filming federal agents when he was tackled and fatally shot. Video reviewed by multiple outlets showed him holding a phone as he approached agents before being pepper-sprayed and brought to the ground, contradicting early federal accounts that he posed an imminent threat. Two federal agents involved in the encounter were placed on administrative leave, a standard protocol, as DHS and federal investigators continue reviewing the incident.
Good’s death occurred during a separate immigration enforcement action earlier in January. Video and independent analyses showed an ICE agent fired multiple shots at her vehicle as she attempted to drive away, striking and killing her. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner ruled her death a homicide, and the incident drew immediate condemnation from local officials and civil liberties advocates. Federal authorities defended the agent’s conduct, saying she posed a danger, a claim disputed by some witnesses.
“We condemn the killing of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis as the latest in a mounting toll of deaths tied to immigration enforcement operations,” the civil rights leaders said, linking the shootings with broader concerns about federal agency conduct and accountability. They said federal agents have fired weapons at civilians in at least 19 documented incidents in recent months and demand an end to what they called “sanctioned violence.”
The group also criticized what it described as obstruction of independent investigations, saying state and local officials have been denied meaningful access to evidence and crime scenes. “When governors and attorneys general cannot investigate deaths in their own states, accountability has collapsed,” the statement said.
The leaders called on every U.S. senator to vote against legislation that funds ICE and DHS enforcement operations and requested immediate meetings with Senate Democratic and Republican leadership to discuss congressional intervention. They argued that continued funding without accountability amounts to an abdication of congressional oversight responsibilities.
