Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) said Sunday that the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti raises questions about the tactics of federal immigration officers.
“This is a real tragedy,” Stitt told host Dana Bash on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “And I think the death of Americans, what we’re seeing on TV, it’s causing deep concerns over federal tactics and accountability.”
“Americans don’t like what they’re seeing right now,” he added.
Pretti, a 37-year-old American citizen, was shot and killed by a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agent in Minneapolis on Saturday. His death comes less than three weeks after 37-year-old Renee Good, also a U.S. citizen, was fatally shot in her car by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in Minneapolis.
The Trump administration has sent CBP and ICE personnel to Democratic-run cities across the country, including Minneapolis, Los Angeles and Chicago. Stitt, while noting that President Trump campaigned on mass deportations, called for “real solutions” on immigration — including allowing states to issue work permits.
“We believe in federalism and state rights,” the GOP governor and chair of the National Governors Association (NGA) said. “And nobody likes feds coming into their state.”
Also Sunday, Stitt and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D), the vice chair of the NGA, issued a joint statement urging the federal government to work with, instead of usurp, state and local authorities on immigration matters.
“States and the federal government should work together to ensure laws are enforced, communities are protected, and constitutional norms are preserved,” they wrote. “We believe strong leadership at every level — federal, state, and local — requires collaboration, communication, and respect for each other’s roles.”
But Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) Superintendent Drew Evans said Saturday that the Department of Homeland Security has taken over the investigation into the shooting of Pretti and that “others outside of the state” have blocked his bureau from cooperating on the probe.
“We have a long history of working together in partnership, and we need to keep in mind that we’re all safer, we’re all better together when we can do that collectively,” Evans added, referencing the federal government.
The BCA, along with state and local law enforcement, was also shut out of the investigation into Good’s killing.
