Klobuchar, Smith pay tribute to Minnesota victims on US Senate floor, call for ICE reforms

A picture sits at a memorial to Alex Pretti on Jan. 25, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Minnesota’s U.S. senators took to the chamber’s floor Wednesday afternoon to honor two constituents killed by federal agents this month and call for the Department of Homeland Security to end its surge in the Twin Cities.

Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith led a chorus of Democratic senators calling for an end to the aggressive tactics used by immigration officers during President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown following the fatal shootings of Renee Good on Jan. 7 and Alex Pretti on Jan. 24, by federal agents in Minneapolis.

The Democrats repeated their demand that Congress amend the annual DHS funding bill, which must pass by Friday at midnight to avoid a partial government shutdown, to add accountability measures. 

Smith and Klobuchar, who is reported to be considering a bid for governor this year, added more personal reflections about the weekslong influx of immigration agents, and the massive protests against it, in their state.

“I want to just take a pause to acknowledge my beloved Minnesota,” Smith said, her voice starting to shake. “I am so proud to be your senator, and, you know, so many people around the country are looking to you, to us, for hope, and you are showing the world how to respond to violence, how to stand up to bullies with strength and with dignity and with peace.”

They said the DHS funding bill should not pass until the department withdraws its agents from the state. Klobuchar and other Democrats who spoke over the following hour-plus also called for DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to resign.

“There must be new leadership in the Department of Homeland Security now, and there must be major reforms to these agencies before this Congress should approve another cent,” Klobuchar said.

Those reforms should include an end to immigration agents’ “roving patrols,” requirements that agents remove masks and wear body cameras, and that the department enforce a use-of-force policy and provide “meaningful accountability” and transparency into officer-involved shootings, Klobuchar said.

Minnesota’s senators also called for Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to depart their home state.

“I can not state it more unequivocally: ICE must leave Minnesota,” Klobuchar said.