Pritzker Calls for Bipartisan Governor Response After Fatal CBP Shooting

After a fatal shooting by a Border Patrol officer in Minneapolis on Saturday, Democratic governors across the country have joined Minnesota Governor Tim Walz in condemning the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operations.

The Department of Homeland Security reported that Minneapolis resident Alex Jeffrey Pretti, 37, was shot during an encounter with federal agents. According to DHS officials, Pretti was armed with a 9mm handgun and two magazines, and allegedly “violently resisted” attempts to disarm him, which prompted the shooting. Officials noted the concerning nature of the encounter, stating, “This looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.”

Court records indicate Pretti had no criminal history, and state officials confirmed he possessed a lawful Permit to Carry.

The incident has sparked outrage among Democratic governors who have publicly criticized the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker claimed on social media that “masked federal agents in Minnesota just shot and killed another person,” and called for unified opposition to the operations. “We must put a stop to Trump’s ICE. Now. Stop the funding, stop the occupations, stop the killings,” Pritzker wrote.

California Governor Gavin Newsom went further, accusing President Donald Trump of intentionally “making a shooting happen” following peaceful protests in Minnesota. “Yesterday, hundreds of thousands filled the streets of Minnesota — marching in subzero temperatures in a PEACEFUL protest,” Newsom stated. “Not the excuse to invoke the Insurrection Act the President wanted. So today, Trump made a shooting happen.”

New York Governor Kathy Hochul characterized the shooting as “another horrific outcome from a federal operation that has clearly spun out of control,” while Maryland Governor Wes Moore claimed ICE operations show “a reckless pattern of violence” that endangers communities. Moore added, “Again and again, we see that ICE lacks accountability and agents lack training for the operations they’re being sent on.”

Maine Governor Janet Mills announced she has requested a meeting with President Trump to demand the withdrawal of ICE agents from her state. She described the situation as “a grave violation of the Constitution” and called on Congress to cut off funding for ICE and bring Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem before them for a public hearing.

DHS officials have countered these criticisms by providing details about the operation. Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino stated at a news conference that the officer involved in the shooting was “highly trained” with eight years of service. According to Bovino, the operation was targeting Jose Huerta-Chuma, an illegal immigrant with a criminal history that included domestic assault and other offenses.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey joined the governors in demanding the removal of federal agents from his city. “I just saw a video of more than six masked agents pummeling one of our constituents and shooting him to death,” Frey said during a news conference. “How many more residents? How many more Americans need to die or get badly hurt for this operation to end?”

President Trump responded to the incident on Truth Social, posting a photo of the gun that DHS said it recovered from the scene. He questioned why local police weren’t involved in protecting ICE officers and suggested they had been “called off” by the mayor and governor. Trump also referenced recent reports of financial fraud in Minnesota, stating, “We are there because of massive Monetary Fraud, with Billions of Dollars missing, and Illegal Criminals that were allowed to infiltrate the State.”

The Department of Homeland Security is leading the investigation into the shooting, with assistance from the FBI. The incident comes amid heightened tensions surrounding immigration enforcement actions across the country, with federal operations facing increasing scrutiny from state and local officials.