Warren Rages Against ICE Funding: ‘We Cannot Give One More Penny’
President Donald Trump dispatched Border Czar Tom Homan to Minnesota this week following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti during a confrontation with federal immigration agents over the weekend — a move that has intensified political tensions in Washington as Congress faces a critical funding deadline.
The incident has become the flashpoint for a broader fight over immigration enforcement, as funding for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is included in a package of spending bills that must clear the U.S. Senate by Friday to prevent a partial government shutdown. Democrats have seized on the shooting to renew calls to block or slash ICE funding, despite warnings from Republicans and some moderates that such a move would jeopardize public safety and border security.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) delivered an emotional floor speech this week, demanding lawmakers vote against funding ICE and accusing the agency of widespread abuse.
“This invasion by ICE is not making anyone in America safer. And if we don’t put a stop to it, these masked agents are going to kill more people. We are at a turning point in our country. And what we do next, now, is in front of the United States Senate, in front of my colleagues here today,” Warren declared.
She went on to attack prior funding levels approved under President Trump.
“This week, we are tasked with funding the government, and one part stands out. Last summer, Trump and the Republicans lavished ICE with $75 billion. That is more than their annual budget for seven years. And maybe that is why ICE is handing out $50,000 recruiting bonuses. Now, in this budget, Trump and the Republicans want to reward ICE with an additional $10 billion in funding,” Warren continued.
Warren concluded her remarks with a forceful rejection of any additional funding.
“That’s right, Donald Trump wants us to write another check, hand it over to ICE, and let’s them keep rolling in the dough. But here is my view — I am a no. I am a hell no. We cannot give one more penny to Trump’s ICE while its masked, poorly trained agents terrorize people all across this country. It is time for the United States Senate to step up and stop ICE’s violence. We must stand united, and we must fight back, and we must do it now.”
Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that two federal agents — one from U.S. Customs and Border Protection and another from the Border Patrol — were placed on administrative leave following the Jan. 24 shooting in Minneapolis’s Eat Street district. The move is standard protocol after officer-involved shootings and does not imply wrongdoing, DHS officials emphasized.
Pretti, 37, was an intensive care nurse for the Department of Veterans Affairs. Federal authorities say the agents involved are no longer on field duty while investigators review body-worn camera footage and other evidence related to the incident.
The shooting marked the second fatal encounter involving federal immigration agents in Minneapolis this month, following the Jan. 7 death of Renée Good during a separate enforcement action. Both incidents have fueled protests and reignited national debate over immigration enforcement in Minnesota.
In a formal notice to Congress, DHS reported that two federal officers fired their weapons during the encounter that killed Pretti. Investigations by federal and local authorities remain ongoing.
President Trump has acknowledged that “no agency is perfect” while reaffirming his administration’s commitment to enforcing immigration law. The deployment of senior border officials to Minneapolis signals that operational reviews may be underway amid public backlash.
Additional scrutiny emerged Wednesday after new video obtained by the BBC surfaced showing a confrontation involving Pretti and ICE agents roughly two weeks before his death. The footage depicts Pretti arguing with agents who were blocking a street, spitting toward them, and kicking out a tail light on their vehicle. Agents exited the SUV and took him to the ground, though no arrest was made at the time.
As tensions continue to rise, the Trump administration scored a legal victory Monday when a federal appeals court overturned a lower-court ruling that had limited ICE’s ability to use standard enforcement tactics during violent protests in Minnesota — reinforcing the administration’s authority to maintain law and order amid unrest.