Senate Democrats plan to block a sweeping government funding package after U.S. Border Patrol agents killed a man in Minneapolis on Saturday — increasing the likelihood of another shutdown at the end of the week.
Federal law enforcement agents shot and killed a 37-year-old intensive care nurse, Alex Pretti, in Minneapolis on Saturday morning during an immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota. Federal officials alleged that Pretti approached officers with a handgun and resisted attempts to disarm him. Videos of the incident show federal agents swarming Pretti, wrestling him to the ground and shooting him after he attempted to get up.
The shooting prompted protests and clashes between demonstrators and federal agents and drew furious recrimination from Democratic lawmakers who are expected to vote on bipartisan legislation this week that would fund most of the federal government. It is the third shooting by federal agents in Minneapolis this month: Officers also shot and killedRenée Good in her car and shot Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in the leg as he attempted to evade arrest, according to federal officials.
Democrats said they could not vote for legislation to continue U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s funding without changes to how the agency operates.
“What’s happening in Minnesota is appalling — and unacceptable in any American city. 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 [Department of Homeland Security] bill is woefully inadequate to rein in the abuses of [Immigration and Customs Enforcement.] I will vote no,” Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-New York) said in a statement. “Senate Democrats will not provide the votes to proceed to the appropriations bill if the DHS funding bill is included.”
The legislation set to come to the Senate floor this week includes six government funding bills spanning multiple agencies — including large agencies like the Departments of Defense and Health and Human Services — and makes up the majority of discretionary spending. It would appropriate $64.4 billion for Homeland Security, including $10 billion for ICE.
Existing government funding runs out at the end of the day on Friday, and most of the government would shut down if a funding bill is not approved in time. At least seven Senate Democrats would need to vote for the legislation for it to pass in the upper chamber, where 60 votes are needed to overcome the filibuster.
Lawmakers could try to split the Homeland Security bill from the legislation to fund the rest of the government, which has stronger bipartisan support. A spokesperson for Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) said she is “exploring all options” to pass the remaining government funding bills in time.
ICE’s immigration enforcement raids in Minneapolis and other cities across the country have enraged Democrats in Congress and brought increased pressure from their voters to block funding for Homeland Security, even though most lawmakers have little appetite for another shutdown. The whole government closed in October for the longest period in U.S. history, as Congress deadlocked over demands from Democrats to extend enhanced health care subsidies that expired at the end of the year.
President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem have ramped up ICE operations across the country, arguing it is necessary to deport undocumented immigrants with criminal records. Agents have been recorded aggressively detaining individuals, including many U.S. citizens or undocumented immigrants without violent criminal records.
Some Democrats were already urging their colleagues not to vote for the funding package even before the Saturday shooting in Minneapolis. The House passed the Homeland Security funding measure last week, largely on party lines.
“I don’t think we will look sincere in our moral outrage about what’s happening in DHS if we vote to fund a budget that puts no constraints on their illegal, inhumane operations,” Sen. Chris Murphy (Connecticut), the top Democrat on the Homeland Security appropriations subcommittee, said Thursday in an interview.
Sen. Tim Kaine (Virginia), one of a handful of Senate Democrats who voted to end last year’s shutdown in November, said Friday that he would not vote for the Homeland Security bill “without significant amendment” due to concerns over ICE.
By Saturday, it was clear that Democrats wouldn’t support the Homeland Security funding unless it included additional accountability measures for ICE.
The top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Sen. Patty Murray (Washington), wrote on X on Saturday that she would no longer support the Homeland Security bill. Last week, she had advocated for the legislation, arguing that a funding extension or a shutdown would give the Trump administration more leeway over spending decisions at the agency.
“Federal agents cannot murder people in broad daylight and face zero consequences,” she wrote Saturday. “The DHS bill needs to be split off from the larger funding package before the Senate — Republicans must work with us to do that. I will continue fighting to rein in DHS and ICE.”
Another Democratic senator who voted to reopen the government last year, Catherine Cortez Masto (Nevada), said in a statement Saturday that the Trump administration is “putting undertrained, combative federal agents on the streets with no accountability” and “oppressing Americans.”
Some Republicans, too, raised concerns with ICE’s actions in Minnesota.
“The events in Minneapolis are incredibly disturbing,” Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana) said on X. “The credibility of ICE and DHS are at stake. There must be a full joint federal and state investigation. We can trust the American people with the truth.”
But others defended the federal operation. Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tennessee) argued that Schumer wants to shut down the government “because he puts illegal immigrants above law enforcement.”
“Instead of bowing to his socialist flank, what Schumer should be doing is telling [Gov. Tim Walz] to stop encouraging violence and let law enforcement do its job,” Hagerty wrote on X. “He must turn the rhetoric down and all the chaos is on his hands.”
Theodoric Meyer contributed to this report.
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