WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans are growing concerned that immigration enforcement is becoming a political liability in the upcoming midterm elections after two people were killed by federal agents during President Donald Trump’s crackdown in Minneapolis.
While few are willing to publicly break with the president, there has been a crescendo of criticism as Republicans push the White House to change course. A funding deadline at the end of the week has brought the issue to a head in Congress, with Democrats vowing to block Homeland Security funding without significant changes and Republicans scrambling to find their footing.
“This is about regaining the confidence of the American people on this issue, and I really think we’re losing on an issue that we should be winning,” Sen. Thom Tillis told reporters on Capitol Hill.
The North Carolina Republican is retiring at the end of his term, making him more willing to speak frankly than others in his party who are counting on the outrage over the Minneapolis deaths while also trying to avoid getting along with Trump.
But others are speaking out after 37-year-old Alex Pretti was killed Saturday, just weeks after 37-year-old Renee Good was fatally shot.
“The administration has lost control of the narrative,” said Jason Roe, a Republican strategist who works on midterm campaigns. He said, “We can’t get out from under what’s going on in Minneapolis.”
Historically, the party that controls the White House loses ground in Congress during midterms. Republicans have also struggled in elections without Trump on the ballot, a pattern that continued last year in New Jersey and Virginia.
“Democrats are really, really mad and can’t wait to go to the polls,” Roe said. “And I just don’t see that in any poll that I’ve seen from the Republican side.”
Noem is a target of criticism
For Republicans uneasy about the administration’s law enforcement tactics but reluctant to directly criticize Trump, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has become the focus of their anxiety.
“I think you have a secretary right now who needs to be responsible for the chaos and some of the tragedies that we’ve seen,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who said Noem should resign. She added that “we need clarity and accountability for the chaos and tragedy we have seen.”
Trump said Noem is “doing a very good job” and will remain in his administration. Democrats have said she should be impeached, though they lack the power on Capitol Hill to do so, while Republicans hold the majority.
Immigration has been one of Trump’s signature issues, and voters were even more likely to embrace his tough stance in 2024 than they had been in previous campaigns. Republicans continue to overwhelmingly support his work on immigration, according to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted in January.
Tillis, who also called for Noem’s replacement, said the president is jeopardizing that.
“He won with a strong message about immigration,” Tillis said. “And now nobody’s talking about it. They’re not talking about securing the border. They’re talking about the incompetence of the leader of Homeland Security.”
Concerns have spread to Maine, home to one of the most competitive Senate races in the country. Sen. Susan Collins, who is running for re-election, said Tuesday that she has asked the administration to halt the increase in immigration enforcement operations in her state and Minnesota.
Republicans are using government funds to voice their disapproval
Lawmakers are using the Jan. 31 deadline to pass government funding legislation as a pressure tactic to force change. Trump has already signed into law six of the 12 annual spending bills for the current budget year, but six more still await approval in the Senate, including funding for Homeland Security.
A growing number of Senate Republicans have said they would be open to Democrats’ request to separate homeland security funding from the broader package for further debate while advancing the remaining bills.
Other Republicans struck a more cautious tone. Sen. Ted Budd of North Carolina said on social media that while he supports Trump’s immigration goals, he hopes the president’s decision to reshuffle staff in Minnesota will lead to “orderly and systematic operations” focused on the most dangerous criminals.
There was a notable change of tone at the top following Pretti’s death on Saturday. In an interview Tuesday night, the president told ABC News that he hopes the presence of border czar Tom Homan — who this week replaced Gregory Bovino of the Border Patrol as his person on the ground — will allow for a “little more relaxed” and “de-escalated” operation in Minneapolis.
But Trump reacted angrily when Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said he wanted Homeland Security to end its operations “as quickly as possible,” posting on social media that the mayor was “playing with fire.”
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Kinnard reported from Columbia, SC and can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP