The killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis by Border Patrol agents set off another firestorm nationwide just weeks after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official killed Renee Good.
And just like the killing of Good, President Donald Trump, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and the rest of the administration has parroted the line alleging Pretti was a domestic terrorist.
Trump and others have publicly affirmed that Pretti came at federal agents with a firearm, though multiple video recordings contradict the official story and he was licensed to carry the holstered pistol.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller went so far as to accuse Pretti of wanting to "assassinate" federal agents. After days of snowballing criticism of the Pretti killing from both sides of the political aisle, the president on Monday announced he was dispatching Tom Homan, his "border czar," to Minneapolis.
But there is more to this seeming Trump walk-back than meets the eye.
Congress needs to pass a handful of spending bills to avoid a partial shutdown, including its bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security, which houses ICE and CBP.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that Democrats will not vote for a spending package that includes spending for DHS.
But unlike the killing of Good by an ICE agent earlier this month, Republican senators seem to be queasy about the way Pretti was gunned down by CBP officials.
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) echoed this call for an investigation as well, not to oppose ICE or CBP, but to protect it.
"The credibility of ICE and DHS are at stake," he said. "There must be a full joint federal and state investigation. We can trust the American people with the truth."
Unsurprisingly, senior CBP official Gregory Bovino shot back at Cassidy.
"The same state that refuses to work with ICE is now going to 'investigate'?" he posted on X. "How about investigating a certain mayor who told cops to fight ICE in the streets. You don't seem concerned about that - how come, senator?"
But this is a crisis of Trump's own making. His decision to endorse Rep. Julia Letlow in the Republican primary in the state all but guaranteed Cassidy would start to criticize Trump more.
Republicans are likely reading the same polls as everyone else.
A YouGov survey from this week showed that 57 percent of Americans disapprove of the job ICE is doing. In addition, the number of Americans who say ICE's tactics are too forceful jumped by five points to 58 percent this month.
Read more here:
0 comentários:
Postar um comentário