U.S. Reps. Gregory Meeks and Grace Meng joined Queens Borough President Donovan Richards at Borough Hall Jan. 29 to demand accountability for ICE agents involved in the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis this month.
Elected officials also called for ICE to immediately cease operations in Minnesota and stop “terrorizing communities” in Queens during the event.
Meeks, Meng and Richards joined a number of local faith leaders at the Helen Marshall Cultural Center at Borough Hall to call for a comprehensive, independent investigation into the shootings of Good and Pretti. They also called for ICE to be defunded until significant “guardrails” are introduced.
Democrats demand investigations after fatal shootings
Good was fatally shot by ICE agent Jonathan Ross when she attempted to pull off from a traffic stop in Minneapolis on Jan. 7. The Trump Administration has alleged that Good had attempted to run Ross over with her car and that the agent was acting in self-defense. Democratic lawmakers have heavily disputed this, demanding a criminal investigation into the shooting.
Pretti, meanwhile, was shot multiple times by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents on Jan. 24 during a protest against ICE presence in Minneapolis. Pretti, who was carrying a legal firearm in a holster, had been attempting to help a woman who had been shoved to the ground by agents when he was pepper-sprayed and wrestled to the ground by several CBP agents, a separate agency within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Widespread footage of the incident appears to show agents removing Pretti’s firearm from the scene before other agents fired up to 10 shots, appearing to contradict DHS claims that officers had fired defensive shots.
Meeks accused the Trump Administration of unleashing “brutality” on American streets through current immigration enforcement policies, adding that the U.S. is currently in a “dangerous place.” He demanded independent investigations into both shootings during Thursday’s press conference.
He also noted that House and Senate Democrats are currently negotiating with their Republican counterparts to “stop taxpayer dollars” from reaching DHS, which covers ICE, CBP, the Coast Guard and the Secret Service.
Senate removes DHS funding from spending package
On Jan. 29, Republicans and Democrats in the Senate reached an agreement to remove funding for DHS from a package of six spending bills.
The deal approves funding for the treasury, the federal court system, the Health Department, the War Department (previously the Department of Defense) and other agencies until Sept. 30. DHS funding will continue at its current level for two weeks while both sides work out a new deal to fund the agency.
Meeks said that ICE should be “defunded” as part of the deal.
“We are negotiating and working on something to stop the madness,” Meeks said. “(Republicans should) work with Democrats to stop taxpayer dollars from flowing to the hands of an administration set on brutalizing our communities and killing those who stand in the way.”
DHS did not respond to a request for comment. The Trump Administration, however, has consistently defended ICE in the past, with Vice President JD Vance incorrectly stating that Ross is protected by “absolute immunity” in the shooting of Good. Vance also defended Ross by stating that the officer was “doing his job.”
Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin, meanwhile, has also objected to defunding ICE, stating that he will “not keep ICE from doing their job.”
“The American people wanted the president to enforce law and order and ICE is doing their job,” Mullin told NPR.
Meeks, however, insisted that he would only vote in favor of funding for DHS if lawmakers included provisions to “fix the issues with the DHS,” including banning the use of masks by ICE agents, mandating that ICE agents must wear body cameras and mandating that agents must have a judicial warrant.
Fatal shootings are ‘shocking and sickening’
Meng, meanwhile, described the fatal shooting of Good and Pretti as “shocking and sickening” and added that communities across Queens had been “terrorized” by federal immigration authorities since President Donald Trump took office 12 months ago.
“The horrifying footage speaks for itself,” Meng said. “It is shocking and sickening, but it’s not just about the two of them. It’s also about so many others in Minneapolis and in New York, right here in Queens, who have been terrified and terrorized by ICE.”
Meng alleged that the vast majority of Queens residents detained by ICE have “never been in trouble with the law.” She also demanded accountability for ICE agents involved in fatal shootings in Minnesota and “unjust detention” of constituents in Queens.
“If anything in this country demands accountability right now, it is the actions of these ICE agents,” Meng said. “These violent thugs and their bosses have no place in our law enforcement agencies. When the people who are supposed to keep us safe are shooting Americans in cold blood in Minneapolis or kidnapping my constituents in Queens, something is deeply wrong.”
Meng vowed to use “every tool at her disposal” to demand accountability from ICE, noting that she voted against a DHS funding package last week as well as co-sponsoring legislation calling for DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to be impeached.
Richards says ICE should be abolished
Richards, on the other hand, called for ICE to be abolished in a fiery speech that slammed ICE as the “American Taliban.” The Borough President said there is no alternative but to abolish ICE because it can no longer exist in its current state.
“You can’t fix what they’re doing,” Richards said.
He said immigrant families are “living in fear” in Queens, preventing them from accessing schools, work, health services and churches. He added that his office has received reports of ICE agents waiting outside schools to “sweep families off their feet.” Richards further described ICE as “Donald Trump’s Gestapo” in the address.
“Queens might not look occupied like Minneapolis, but the mental and emotional scars our families bear are just the same,” Richards said. “What we’ve all seen on video, of course, cannot be whitewashed. It can’t be covered up, and it will never be forgotten.”
Investigations can’t be ‘covered up’
Meeks also said officers involved in the shootings of Good and Pretti should be held accountable, stating that there was “no real threat” to officers in either situation.
“It can’t be an investigation that is covered up,” Meeks said.
Meeks alleged that there are similarities between ICE and police in authoritarian regimes.
“Bursting out of cars with masks on, breaking down doors and indiscriminately taking people into custody. Well, history shows that did take place in Nazi Germany,” Meeks said.
He said Congress must defund ICE in its current form, adding that the agency should only target undocumented immigrants who have been convicted of committing crimes, particularly violent crimes.
“Let’s not fund them until they change,” Meeks said. “There are changes that have to be made. There need to be guardrails. There needs to be more transparency and accountability.
“ICE, in its current form, cannot exist.”
