Growing number of Democrats vow to vote against DHS funding over Alex Pretti shooting in Minneapolis

A growing number of Senate Democrats are vowing to vote against funding for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., announced Sunday that she will not support DHS funding unless significant changes are made to how the agency conducts enforcement operations. 

Her position comes amid mounting outrage over a January 24 incident in which a federal Border Patrol agent shot and killed 37-year-old Minneapolis resident Alex Pretti, an intensive care nurse and U.S. citizen, during a DHS immigration enforcement operation.

During an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press, Klobuchar said she was “absolutely horrified” by the shooting and sharply criticized the Trump administration’s portrayal of the encounter. 

She noted that official descriptions of the incident — including claims that Pretti posed a violent threat — conflict with widely shared video footage and eyewitness accounts. In strong terms, she questioned whether Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is making communities safer.

“When they’re killing two constituents in my state … no, I am not voting for this funding,” Klobuchar told the program’s moderator, arguing the current DHS spending bill cannot be supported as long as ICE continues to operate without meaningful accountability or reform.

Klobuchar also joined local leaders in calling for ICE to withdraw from Minnesota, saying the presence of thousands of federal agents has escalated tensions and undermined community safety. She emphasized the need for a transparent investigation into Pretti’s death and a prior fatal shooting by another federal agent earlier in January.

Party leaders, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, have signaled they may block the DHS funding bill unless it is changed to include stronger oversight and limitations on ICE’s activities. The resistance to funding DHS increases the likelihood of a partial government shutdown as the current funding deadline approaches.

Schumer said that Democrats "will not allow the current DHS funding bill to move forward."

“Senate Republicans must work with Democrats to advance the other five funding bills while we work to rewrite the DHS bill. This is [the] best course of action, and the American people are on our side,” Schumer wrote, according to NBC News.

Some Republicans, such as Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, have called for a full investigation into the shooting incident.