Gov. Kathy Hochul on Sunday called for Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to resign in the aftermath of two fatal shootings by ICE agents in Minneapolis this month.
“Kristi Noem has forfeited her right to lead, and I’m calling on her to resign as Secretary of Homeland Security, or Donald Trump to do the right thing and just fire her. And if not, she must be removed or impeached.” Hochul said.
What You Need To Know
- Gov. Kathy Hochul on Sunday called for Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to resign
- The calls came after 37-year-old Alex Pretti was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis during a protest Saturday
- The death of Pretti is the second fatal shooting of a civilian by an ICE agent in Minneapolis in recent weeks. Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was killed in her car earlier this month
- Hochul also called for the firing of Greg Bovino, a senior Border Patrol official who Hochul said has helped “lead and escalate operations”
Hochul also called for the firing of Greg Bovino, a senior Border Patrol official who Hochul said has helped “lead and escalate operations.”
The calls came after 37-year-old Alex Pretti was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis during a protest Saturday.
Videos emerged showing the fatal shooting, which has been widely denounced as a case of excessive force carried out by untrained federal officers. The Trump administration has said it was a case of an armed man provoking violence, but Hochul denounced that characterization.
“Federal agents fired a shot, not one, but a barrage of bullets into his body on a public sidewalk in America. The federal government claims the killing was justified. This nurse, with nothing more than a cellphone in his hand, that he was trying to kill them — that’s their story,” Hochul said. “But anyone who’s seen this horrific video – multiple videos – knows that this is a shameless, bold-faced lie. This is not a threat that needed to be neutralized. It was a civilian exercising their free right to protest.”
The death of Pretti is the second fatal shooting of a civilian by an ICE agent in Minneapolis in recent weeks. Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was killed in her car earlier this month.
“Videos don’t lie, and don’t stop believing what your eyes tell you,” Hochul said.
Manhattan and Bronx Rep. Adriano Espaillat called for ICE to be “dismantled” in an interview with NY1 on Saturday that was conducted after Pretti’s death.
“This is just an agency that has become a violent and deadly weapon,” Espaillat said. “ICE should be dismantled. And border patrol, which is also involved in violent behavior, should also be looked at and potentially dismantled.”
Hochul said hundreds of U.S. citizens have been detained by ICE, and dozens of others have died in their custody.
“Donald Trump’s hand-picked leader of the Department of Homeland Security has proven to be unwilling and unable to follow the law to stop these killings,” she added. “[Noem] has shown a profound disregard for human life.”
