U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), who serves as Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, addressed the recent killing of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse at a VA hospital in Minneapolis, by federal agents. Speaking on the Senate floor, Durbin expressed his continued opposition to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill and linked potential government shutdowns to Congressional Republicans' refusal to add oversight measures for President Trump's administration.
“Earlier this month, the nation watched in horror as social media was flooded with images and videos of a federal immigration officer shooting and killing an American citizen, Renée Good, as part of the Trump Administration’s militarized enforcement operations in Minneapolis. Now, fresh on the heels of that tragedy, another one has struck. This weekend, federal agents gunned down yet another American in Minneapolis… Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse at a VA hospital in Minneapolis,” Durbin said. “The killing of Alex Pretti has further intensified tensions in a city already reeling from the President’s aggressive campaign of terror.”
Durbin criticized what he described as the Trump Administration's response to these incidents: “What was the Trump Administration’s immediate response when they heard of this second killing in Minneapolis? Not to bring down the temperature, but instead to rush to the American people with one message: don’t believe your eyes. Don’t believe what you see. It’s the same playbook they used after the killing of Renée Good and with other federal immigration officer-involved shootings and incidents.”
He also challenged claims made by President Trump regarding crime reduction efforts and suggested that law enforcement actions have disproportionately targeted Democratic-led cities such as Chicago and Minneapolis/St. Paul. According to Durbin, “If the President wants to work together on reducing crime, count me and Governor Walz in. But these lawless immigration operations are establishing a reign of terror, first in Chicago and now in Minneapolis/St. Paul—eroding constitutionally-protected civil liberties while indiscriminately rounding-up people for the crime of being Black or Brown,” he said.
Durbin referenced an editorial from The Wall Street Journal which reported that since October, 73 percent of individuals detained by ICE had no criminal conviction and only five percent had been convicted for violent crimes.
He accused President Trump of targeting political opponents: “Donald Trump is hell bent on punishing his political opponents in the blue states of America and those who did not vote for him in the last election. We see the cost.”
Durbin called out DHS Secretary Kristi Noem for not appearing before Congress sooner regarding her department's actions but noted she is now scheduled to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 3.
“The time for accountability is now. I have been calling for DHS Secretary Noem to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee for almost one year… Now she tells us it’s possible her schedule may loosen up, and she may be able to come before the Senate Judiciary Committee in five weeks, on March 3—if she happens to still be the DHS Secretary then,” Durbin said. “With all the violence and deaths surrounding DHS, the Secretary is in no hurry to account for her mismanagement of this national crisis. And she expects us, in the meantime, to rubber stamp her record-breaking budget.”
Durbin reaffirmed his stance against supporting current DHS funding: “Over the weekend, I announced my opposition to the DHS funding bill. I will not vote to fund the illegal DHS and ICE operations that terrorize city of Chicago, Minneapolis, and so many other communities. The deaths of innocent Americans and detaining thousands are a national disgrace,” he said.
He advocated for bipartisan cooperation on appropriations bills sent from House members while seeking changes addressing abuses within DHS operations.
“We need to work on a bipartisan basis to pass five appropriations bills that have been sent to us by House," Durbin concluded,"and then work rewrite DHS bill address well-documented abuses witnessed by American people.Anything less than this approach is non-starter with me."
“If government shuts down yet again,it will be because Congressional Republicans refused place guardrails reckless President ICE agency.In meantime,I urge my Republican colleagues join us endeavor before Kristi Noem squad take another innocent life.”
