As immigration debate rages after Minnesota shootings, these 3 NC reps are silent
Some members of North Carolina’s Congressional delegation have stayed silent about the fatal shooting of a Minnesota nurse by federal agents and the ensuing debate about immigration enforcement.
Criticism of the Trump administration’s immigration policies ratcheted up this week after Border Patrol agents fatally shot 37-year-old Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, Minnesota, amid protests over immigration raids in the city. Pretti was the second Minnesotan shot and killed in the upheaval this month.
President Donald Trump’s controversial Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino was reportedly pulled from Minneapolis after backlash to Pretti’s killing, and Trump’s border czar Tom Homan told reporters Thursday the president wants the situation in Minnesota “fixed.” Senate Democrats are threatening a partial federal government shutdown in protest of the administration’s actions.
North Carolina’s Republican U.S. senators and some GOP members of the House joined the state’s Democratic representatives in calling for an investigation into the latest shooting. Outgoing Sen. Thom Tillis and Charlotte-area U.S. Rep. Alma Adams are among those calling for the removal of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Other GOP representatives have put blame on Minnesota’s Democratic elected officials and expressed solidarity with Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
But three of North Carolina’s Republican representatives — Virginia Foxx, Richard Hudson and David Rouzer — were mum about the situation as of Thursday afternoon. They have not released statements to the press, and a Charlotte Observer and Raleigh News & Observer search found no social media posts or interviews with other media outlets about Minnesota.
None of them responded to requests for interviews or comments from Observer or News & Observer reporters.
Republican Congressman Pat Harrigan hasn’t spoken out since Pretti’s death, but he shared on social media earlier in January comments he made to conservative news outlet The Daily Signal after the fatal shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis. In that clip, Harrigan says Minnesota Democrat’s comments on ICE and Border Patrol shouldn’t be taken “seriously.”
The issue has also reached North Carolina’s closely watched Senate race, with the North Carolina Democratic Party criticizing Republican candidate Michael Whatley for not commenting on the situation in Minnesota.
