Minnesota shooting: How Thom Tillis can help America move back from the brink | Editorial

It seems that our country is teetering. Another American was killed by our government in Minnesota, with videos again providing damning evidence against the federal agents who pulled the triggers. Local and state officials are talking and acting like they’ve had enough. Federal officials are responding with wild accusations and demonstrable lies. Demonstrators are not backing down. Hardly anyone is. Teetering.

It seemed inevitable, this moment, and we have a nagging worry that this storm may be exactly what Donald Trump wants. But it’s not what’s good for America, and we need leaders to move us away from it.

Thom Tillis can be one such leader. Since deciding not to run for re-election last year, he’s found freedom to voice at least some of what he thinks about the president’s policies and people. Just this month, he’s been plainspoken about Trump’s attempted bullying of Greenland, and he’s been downright blunt about amateurish and “stupid” White House aide Stephen Miller. Yes, some progressives think Tillis is being too cute in stopping short of directly criticizing Trump (the senator said Sunday that officials’ response to Minnesota could do a disservice to Trump’s “legacy.”) But Tillis’ criticism has given Republicans some political cover, and Trump is listening, if grudgingly.

Right now, however, America needs more than a voice. It needs a pragmatic path forward on ICE, the Border Patrol and the Department of Homeland Security. In the wake of Minneosta, Senate Democrats are ready to block a sweeping appropriations package unless DHS funding is separated from it. That could lead to a federal shutdown, but there’s space for a compromise that Tillis could help engineer — or at least support: funding DHS with conditions that address what has happened in Minnesota and across the country.

Those conditions should, at the least, include:

*Establishing more rigorous standards for hiring ICE and Border Patrol agents, along with robust training that includes basic law enforcement procedures on deescalation;

*Requiring that agents obey federal and state laws in pursuing and detaining undocumented immigrants. Specifically, agents are not to enter homes without a signed warrant from an independent judge who has examined evidence supporting the request. ICE and CBP shouldn’t get a pass on the Constitution;

*Eliminating quotas and bonuses that incentivize the reckless and illegal behavior we’ve seen.

Democrats will surely want more, and we don’t necessarily disagree. For starters, DHS secretary Kristi Noem should resign for the demonstrable and despicable lies she told this weekend about Minnesota shooting victim Alex Pretti. But what Tillis should support — and what Democrats should accept — is the attainable compromise. The path forward this week should be about restoring accountability and walking the country back from this precarious place. We believe both Democrats and Republicans in Washington want that. They, and we, need leaders to take us there.

This story was originally published January 26, 2026 at 7:50 AM.