WASHINGTON, D.C. – SENATOR KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND on Monday issued a statement condemning the conduct of the Department of Homeland Security, as well as Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which DHS oversees, following the fatal shooting by Border Patrol agents of nurse Alex Pretti at a Minnesota protest last week, the second protest shooting in a month. Gillibrand, who sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said she could not back a contentious federal agency funding bill currently making its way through Congress in light of recent events.
“This administration has used DHS to terrorize and intimidate American citizens. Simply put, ICE and DHS are out of control. They openly lie to the American people, disregard our constitutional rights, and undermine the trust law enforcement must have to serve and protect the public. Separating children from families, pepper-spraying pastors, and disrupting local residents and small businesses is unacceptable. The murder of American citizens is intolerable. I cannot and will not support further funding of DHS without increased accountability and reform of the agency,” Gillibrand wrote in a statement.
Long Island U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi, one of seven Democratic congressmembers to vote with Republicans to narrowly advance the funding bill prior to Pretti’s shooting, also issued a statement on Monday expressing regret for his vote. “I failed to view the DHS funding vote as a referendum on the illegal and immoral conduct of ICE in Minneapolis,” Suozzi wrote. Fellow Long Island Democrat Rep. Laura Gillen, who also voted for the bill, on Sunday called for DHS head Kristi Noem’s impeachment.
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