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A Republican lawmaker is calling for an oversight hearing of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agencies, renewing a request from earlier this month as attention turns to a fatal shooting involving federal agents in Minneapolis.
Rep. Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y., chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, said Saturday he is seeking testimony from senior DHS officials following the death of 37-year-old Alex Pretti.
Garbarino said the request builds on an invitation issued by committee staff on Jan. 15, which he is now formally following up on.
The officials he named include acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Todd Lyons, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Rodney Scott, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Joseph Edlow.
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"As chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, my top priority remains keeping Americans safe and ensuring the Department of Homeland Security can accomplish its core mission," Garbarino said.
"I take my oversight duties for the department seriously, and Congress has an important responsibility to ensure the safety of law enforcement and the people they serve and protect," he added. "I am committed to ensuring ICE, CBP, and USCIS are effectively using the historic resources provided through reconciliation to strengthen public safety, and I look forward to each of these agencies testifying before the Committee."
Pretti's death has intensified tensions in Minnesota and reverberated on Capitol Hill, as criticism of the way federal immigration enforcement is being conducted has fueled protests and political scrutiny.
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Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called on the Trump administration to end its ICE operations in the state after the second shooting death of a U.S. citizen in recent weeks, saying they were not making the city safer.
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"This administration and everyone involved in this operation should be reflecting. They should be reflecting right now and asking themselves, what exactly are you accomplishing? If the goal was to achieve peace and safety, this is doing exactly the opposite. If the goal was to achieve calm and prosperity, this is doing exactly the opposite," he told reporters.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem pushed back against Frey during a press conference on Saturday, blaming him and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz for inflaming tensions and accusing them of encouraging resistance to federal law enforcement and refusing to cooperate with immigration authorities.
"They need to evaluate their rhetoric, their conversations, and their encouragement of such violence against our citizens and our law enforcement officers," she said.
