The daughter of Minnesota’s Democratic Governor Tim Walz has publicly attacked federal immigration authorities over the weekend, branding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) a “horrible Gestapo” and urging senators to cut off funding to the agency.
In a TikTok video posted Saturday, Hope Walz reacted to a recent Border Patrol-involved shooting in Minneapolis that left armed anti-ICE activist Alex Pretti, 37, dead.
She said she felt “profound sadness” and “a lot of anger” over the incident.
“ICE brutally beat and murdered, executed may be a better word, a resident of the Twin Cities,” Walz claimed.
“A nurse at the Veterans Hospital — in broad daylight, and then they proceeded to lie about it.”
Walz went on to call for direct political action, urging viewers to pressure lawmakers to defund federal immigration enforcement.
“This horrible Gestapo, essentially, should not be funded, cannot be funded,” she said.
“So, call your senators — call all the senators, and tell them not to fund ICE, because it is deplorable at this point.”
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Federal officials have disputed Walz’s characterization of events.
In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security said Border Patrol agents were conducting a targeted operation in Minneapolis aimed at arresting an illegal alien wanted for violent assault when Pretti approached them armed with a 9mm semiautomatic handgun.
According to DHS, agents attempted to disarm Pretti, but he “violently resisted,” prompting an agent to fire in self-defense.
NBC News reported that while DHS maintains the shooting was justified, eyewitness video circulating on social media appears to contradict elements of the department’s account.
A DHS spokesperson confirmed that investigators are reviewing body-camera footage from immigration agents involved in the incident.
The shooting involving Pretti occurred weeks after another fatal encounter in Minnesota, when Renee Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent after allegedly using her vehicle as a weapon against federal officers.
Walz’s remarks come amid escalating political pressure from Democratic activists and officials to defund or dismantle ICE entirely, even as federal authorities insist agents are conducting targeted operations against individuals wanted for violent crimes.
Her comments also place her squarely at odds with the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement priorities, which emphasize officer safety, criminal removals, and aggressive action against violent offenders.
As investigations into the Minneapolis shooting continue, the rhetoric surrounding immigration enforcement shows no signs of cooling, with calls to defund ICE now coming not only from elected Democrats, but from their families as well.
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