As illegal immigration enforcement operations have come under heavy scrutiny from Democrats after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by a Border Patrol agent on Saturday, Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) offered a different perspective during an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Monday night. The Pennsylvania senator defended the necessity of illegal immigration enforcement operations.
Fetterman first took aim at the Biden administration, blasting the former president for failing on border security and immigration.
“President Biden did a terrible job, and our border was effectively open at that point,” said Fetterman. “Biden and Mayorkas did not secure our border, and I tried to warn my party back in 2023 that this would cost us in the election, and America deserves to secure our border. I don’t know why every American can’t agree with that thing.”
Fetterman then stressed that removing illegal immigrant criminals from the country was a positive development, one that all Americans should support. He also called for reforms that would allow non-criminal illegal immigrants a path toward citizenship.
“Another thing that’s the truth that we should all agree to deport all of the criminals that are here in our nation right now,” Fetterman said. “As for me, as a pro-immigration Democrat, I do think we need to develop a way for citizenship for the very hard-working migrants that are amid us now too.”
“I do have to give credit to the president for securing our border,” Fetterman said.
Fetterman addressed the controversy surrounding Pretti’s death in Minneapolis, expressing regret over his death. However, he also stressed the need for the kind of illegal immigration enforcement federal officers were doing over the weekend in Minneapolis.
“And the tragedy that happened, and we’ve lost two American citizens, I don’t think anyone in America wants that or that they would have voted for those things,” Fetterman said.
Hannity then asked Fetterman about the criminal illegal immigrants apprehended by Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in Minnesota, an effort that Fetterman was supportive of, including citing statistics showing the percentage of criminals arrested by ICE.
“The latest statistics that I’ve seen about ICE, the people that, nationalwide [sic], they have deported, about ⅔ of the ones that have criminal, whether a record or they were actually active in criminal behaviors, ⅔, so that’s what I think America, the vast majority of America, wants to deport those folks.”
Fetterman and Hannity also discussed the inflammatory rhetoric used by Democrats in recent years to describe ICE agents, federal officers, and political opponents, including such harsh insults as calling them “fascists,” “Nazis,” or the “Gestapo.”
“I would never ever compare anybody to Nazis or the Gestapo or for those kinds of things,” Fetterman said. “Nazis are … that’s just not appropriate, and that’s why I refuse to do that. Or refer to Republicans or parts of ICE, they’re not Nazis. For me, that’s something as a Democrat, I refuse to ever engage in.”
Fetterman was also asked about Democrats voting against a bill that would fund agencies that engage in illegal immigration enforcement operations, such as the Department of Homeland Security and ICE. Voting against such a bill could lead to another government shutdown, the second in less than 90 days. Fetterman rejected the idea and said he would not support legislative efforts that would lead to another government shutdown.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE FATAL SHOOTING OF ALEX PRETTI IN MINNESOTA
“I was one of the Democrats that led to pushback about the government shutdown last year, and for about 45 days they kept things shutdown,” Fetterman said. “And if the Democrats vote to shut it down, now our entire military won’t get paid again. I can’t ever support that.”
Fetterman suggested the two parties work together to avoid a shutdown, including embracing potential “commonsense” reforms to ICE.
“I absolutely hope we can engage in a debate and make some of the kinds of commonsense reforms on ICE and make it more safe, more humane, and more effective, and just focus exclusively on the criminals. I hope that’s possible. But for me, I remain to be the one Democrat, at least, that refuse to shut our government down.”