
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In the wake of another fatal shooting of a US citizen in Minnesota by a federal officer, the Senate Democratic leader, ;Chuck Schumer, said his party would block a funding package next week if it includes money for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The announcement, which dramatically escalates the potential for another partial government shutdown, comes as anger towards homeland security, which oversees ICE, intensifies among the party after a group of federal agents violently restrained and then fatally shot 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti in ;Minneapolis.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“What’s happening in ;Minnesota ;is appalling – and unacceptable in any American city,” Schumer, a New York senator, said in a statement. “Democrats sought common sense reforms in the Department of Homeland Security spending bill, but because of Republicans’ refusal to stand up to President Trump, the DHS bill is woefully inadequate to rein in the abuses of ICE. I will vote no.”</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., who broke with her party and opposed its recent shutdown standoff over the Affordable Care Act, said she won’t support the DHS measure.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“The Trump Administration and Kristi Noem are putting undertrained, combative federal agents on the streets with no accountability. They are oppressing Americans and are at odds with local law enforcement,” Cortez Masto said in a statement. “This is clearly not about keeping Americans safe, it’s brutalizing U.S. citizens and law-abiding immigrants. I will not support the current Homeland Security funding bill.”</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., who, like Cortez Masto, was one of the eight Senate Democrats who voted to reopen the government in November, also came out against the DHS legislation.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“As a member of the U.S. Senate, I have the responsibility to hold the Trump Administration accountable when I see abuses of power — like we are seeing from ICE right now,” Rosen said in a statement. “That is why I’ll be voting against any government funding package that contains the bill that funds this agency, until we have guardrails in place to curtail these abuses of power and ensure more accountability and transparency.”</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Numerous Republican senators defended DHS after the killing of the man, identified as Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse serving veterans. Pretti, was shot during an immigration enforcement operation targeting Jose Huerta-Chuma, an illegal immigrant with a criminal history including domestic assault for intentional conflict bodily harm, disorderly conduct and driving without a valid license.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Homeland Security officials said Pretti approached Border Patrol agents while armed with a 9 mm pistol and &#8220;violently resisted&#8221; when they attempted to disarm him.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Some Democrats, including Cortez Masto, are calling for DHS money to be decoupled and voted on separately.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">But there’s no indication that GOP leaders will do that. A spokesperson for Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said they will come up as one bill.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Another complication for Democrats is that Republicans passed a one-time infusion of $170 billion for immigration enforcement, including ICE, which would be legally available for the Trump administration to spend even if DHS funding lapses.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Pretti&#8217;s father, Michael, told ;The Associated Press ;his son, a University of Minnesota graduate, started getting involved in protests after the fatal Jan. 7 shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent, noting he was &#8220;very upset with what was happening in Minneapolis and throughout the United States with ICE.&#8221;</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The Department of Homeland Security is leading the investigation into the shooting, with assistance from the FBI.</p>

Dems Demand to Defund ICE
