In an interview on Monday, House Appropriations Committee Chair Tom Cole said that there needs to be an investigation into the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti by ICE officers in Minneapolis to "determine what happened in that situation."
Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse and U.S. citizen, who was shot and killed by U.S. Border Patrol agents during a federal immigration enforcement operation in south Minneapolis. Video of the incident appears to show Pretti standing between an agent and a woman the agent pushed to the ground before he is pepper sprayed, wrestled to the ground by six officers, and shot.
Pretti's death is part of a string of federal agent-involved shootings in the Minneapolis area in January 2026 that have thrust immigration enforcement into the center of national debate. Earlier in the month, ICE agent Jonathan Ross fatally shot 37-year-old Renée Good during a separate Minneapolis operation.
In statements on Capitol Hill, Cole noted that the fallout from the Minneapolis incidents has made it harder for appropriators to move forward on the Department of Homeland Security funding bill. He said that alongside usual budgetary negotiations, "something in the world happens," referring to the shootings, that complicates reaching agreement, and emphasized that lawmakers need credible, independent findings before advancing further funds for DHS components such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Cole told POLITICO that "The president himself said, 'look, mistakes will be made.' "This is a high-pressure situation, and we need to determine what happened in that situation. I'm not going to try to play judge and jury. I'm not going to reflexively defend something."
When asked about another potential shutdown of the government in response to the incident, Cole responded, "I know shutting down the government is not the way to deal with this incident, and that's what Democrats are threatening," Cole said. "We're not going to pay soldiers in dangerous situations in Iraq or Syria? We're in a big winter storm ... we're not going to make sure FEMA is up and operational? It's just nuts."
His comments come in the wake of bipartisan pressure for further investigation into the shooting. Several Republican political figures including Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski, Bill Cassidy, Susan Collins and others have urged a joint federal and state review of the Pretti shooting.
No new funding.
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) January 25, 2026
Kristi Noem must RESIGN.
Greg Bovino must be FIRED.
Suspend the LAWLESS mass deportation raids nationwide NOW — ICE is no longer just deporting dangerous criminals.
Send the border patrol back to the border.
End the militarization of ICE + the sick racial…
California Governor Gavin Newsom called for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's resignation on social media and that the "LAWLESS mass deportation raids" must be suspended "NOW." More than 100 Democrats have signed to bring articles of impeachment against Noem in response to the shooting.
