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Trump ally tells government to 'wake up' after deadly federal agent shootings in Minneapolis
By Hanna Panreck
Published January 27, 2026
Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., called on the government to "wake up" on Tuesday following a second fatal shooting in Minneapolis over the weekend, demanding action on immigration policy and a reassessment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) tactics.
"The loudest voices on each extreme have retreated to their usual corners. They have an interest in keeping our immigration problems unsolved and politically divisive. Everyone else must see that Congress and the president need to embrace a new comprehensive national immigration policy that acknowledges Americans’ many legitimate concerns about how the government has conducted immigration policy," Lawler wrote in a guest essay for The New York Times.
Lawler said that millions of migrants entered the U.S. during the Biden administration and Americans demanded action in electing President Donald Trump in 2024.
"Thankfully, the Trump administration has effectively stopped illegal border crossings and deported, by its own count, over 675,000 illegal immigrants. Any balanced immigration policy would preserve and expand on this progress — but humanely," Lawler said.
Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., leaves the U.S. Capitol after the last vote of the week on Jan. 9, 2026. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
A Border Patrol agent shot and killed Alex Pretti on a Minneapolis street over the weekend.
Pretti, a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ICU nurse, who was legally permitted to carry the weapon, was fired upon 10 times and died at the scene.
Earlier this month, an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Good in Minneapolis after she allegedly moved her car toward agents in what the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) described as an act of "self-defense."
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Minneapolis police in tactical gear arrive on the street in downtown Minneapolis as protesters gather on Jan. 17, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)
"Agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection are conducting forceful operations in American communities. They should reassess their current tactics," Lawler wrote.
He also said politicians calling to abolish ICE have increased the danger in the city and criticized sanctuary city policies.
Lawler called for collaboration on the investigations into Pretti and Good's deaths, between local, state and federal officials. The GOP lawmaker said Congress should also convene hearings that "promote an honest national conversation about immigration enforcement."
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Representative Mike Lawler, a Republican from New York, during a news conference at the US Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, March 6, 2024. (Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images )
"After tensions have calmed, Congress can then piece together the rest of an immigration plan that settles the issue," Lawler continued. "Along with building on Mr. Trump’s border policies, a realistic plan would provide a path to legal status — not citizenship — for long-term illegal immigrants without criminal records."
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"This path would be rigorous and fair, and it would aim to keep families together. Fair means those who benefit would face mandatory work requirements, forgo public assistance and pay fines and any back taxes they might owe," he wrote.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/trump-ally-tells-government-wake-up-after-deadly-federal-agent-shootings-minneapolis