Congress Must Act to Reign In Border Patrol and ICE

In response to both this general situation and today’s news that Gov. Time Walz deployed the National Guard to Minneapolis in the aftermath of a Border Patrol agent shooting and killing the peaceful protester Alex Pretti, Issue One Founder and CEO Nick Penniman offered the following statement:

“The recent tragedies in Minnesota will only get worse if Congress does not act to rein in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency. The agencies have been given carte blanche by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which has reflexively defended agents before bothering to investigate the facts. The results have been tragic, and they are getting worse. If the administration will not reign in the conduct of these agencies, then Congress must.

“We’re deeply saddened by the death of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis this morning. We are also disturbed by the agencies’ lack of accountability; by the smear campaign Secretary Kristi Noem is running against the alleged “corruption” of Gov. Tim Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey; by the DHS’s labeling of Pretti as a domestic terrorist; and by President Trump’s suggestion that Governor Walz and Mayor Frey are inciting an insurrection. As tensions rise, we urge all protestors to remain peaceful.

“All of this calls for the need for a referee. Congress must be that referee by checking executive power. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and the House Homeland Security Committee should convene oversight hearings as soon as possible. Americans deserve the right to know their government will be held accountable for its actions and the right to know our representatives and senators are protecting our civil liberties.”