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Morale among federal law enforcement officers tasked with carrying out the mission has ‘plummeted’ The Trump administration’s aggressive anti-immigration actions, They reportedly complained about long working hours, high arrest quotas and public animosity.
While officials with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Patrol, which are overseen by the Department of Homeland Security, said they supported the administration’s goals deport undocumented immigrantsmany of whom are “disillusioned” with the strategies implemented by the leadership.
More than 20 current and former immigration officials told new york times They expressed their displeasure within hours of the incident Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse, was shot and killed. by a federal agent in Minneapolis.
This is Second fatal shooting of U.S. citizen There was intense public anger over the violence in Minneapolis, which saw police clash with protesters and was investigated by a federal agent for weeks.
“Throwing a 500-pound gorilla into these inner cities is not going to solve the problem,” Oscar Hagelsieb, a former immigration official and special agent, told the New York Times. era. “They caused chaos and, unfortunately, that resulted in loss of life.”
“This is completely unfair to the agents who have been put in this position,” he added. “There’s only so much they can handle before bad things start happening.”
border patrol agent, A person who normally operates at a port of entryhas been assisting ICE with raids and deployed to provide support at protests. Top Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino previously described the agency’s strategy of quickly arresting individuals before protesters get in as “turn and burn.”
Bovino oversaw operations in Chicago, where agents used tear gas in neighborhoods and attacked protesters with pepper balls. Gil Kerlikowske, who led Customs and Border Patrol during the Obama administration, told reporters the tactics “go well beyond standard practice for law enforcement.” era.
“Morale has been thrown in the dustbin,” he added.
In response, Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin said ICE and Border Patrol agents “get up every morning and work to make our communities safer.”
“The men and women of ICE and Border Patrol are fathers and mothers, sons and daughters,” McLaughlin said in a statement. independent. “Like everyone else, our officers just want to go home to their families at night. These violent and dehumanizing acts by the men and women who enforce the law must stop.”
Senior Trump officials were quick to blame Preti for Saturday’s violence. They painted him as someone who “wanted to cause maximum damage and massacre law enforcement” before the investigation began.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is facing calls to resign after she claimed Preti “brandished” a weapon before a Border Patrol agent “fired defensively.” The narrative in video footage of the incident has been weakened.
Current and former ICE officials who spoke to the media on condition of anonymity said they were “displeased” by the harsh rhetoric from senior White House and Department of Homeland Security officials.
An agent from the department told era He has “always taken a skeptical view of the government in these situations” but he now no longer believes “any statement they make”.
“We’ve lost all trust,” added a current ICE official. “I’m not sure I’ll see us existing in three years.”
Fox News reporter Bill Melukin also report The department is “extremely frustrated” by “some of the claims and narratives put forth by the Department of Homeland Security in the aftermath of the shooting.”
“This message from DHS officials is disastrous from a public relations and morale perspective because it is eroding trust and credibility,” Melukin reported Sunday.
“All sources support the mass deportation agenda, but have serious hesitations about how it will be implemented and the messaging that comes with it,” Merugin added. “Many sources are frustrated that ICE is often blamed for the actions of the Border Patrol, a completely independent agency.”
President Donald Trump says border czar Tom Homan has been sent to Minnesota because of unrest in the state. he told wall street journal His government is “searching” and “reviewing” all aspects of Preeti’s case.
Preity is a former intensive care unit nurse and previously worked at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Alex’s father, Michael Pretti, told the New York Times: “He cared deeply about people and he was very disturbed by what was happening with ICE in Minneapolis and across the United States, just like millions of people were disturbed as well.” Associated Press. “He felt that protesting was a way to show he cared about others.”