Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV) on Monday expressed notable skepticism about Minnesota Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations, signaling that pivotal Republican House support for the Trump administration is on shaky ground.
“I’ll tell you this: There needs to be a pivot in the whole operation. Because regardless of what side of immigration enforcement you’re on, we are not in a good place right now,” he told the Nevada Independent.
Amodei chairs the House committee that leads negotiations to secure funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE. His concerns about how the Trump administration is strategizing immigration operations come at a particularly significant time, as the deadline for Congress to approve an appropriations package that would greenlight ICE funding is Friday.
Democratic calls in Congress to abolish ICE, force federal agents to withdraw from Minnesota, or defund the agency have risen ahead of that deadline, making a partial government shutdown increasingly likely.
The backlash against DHS comes after two people have been killed during ICE-related operations. The deaths of Renee Good, 37, on Jan. 7, and Alex Pretti, 37, on Jan. 24, sparked widespread protests and riotous acts against the agency.
Amodei appeared to take a fairly neutral view of the debate about whether the deadly shootings were justified, saying he was looking forward to “facts” coming about the Minnesota controversy. But he questioned DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s handling of the situation, including her characterization of Pretti as a domestic terrorist. Noem has increasingly faced bipartisan scrutiny for her leadership, with calls growing for her to resign or be fired.
“There’s people who have had it with Kristi Noem,” Amodei said. “For an administration that’s had a lot of success on the border and immigration issues generally, in my view, this has put all that stuff into question. And whether that’s right or not, well, it is politics, and perception is reality. And right now, the perception is not outstanding.”
The Nevada lawmaker does not support defunding ICE and did not directly say whether he agreed with Democrats that ICE funding should be separated from other federal funding, according to the Nevada Independent. But he is pressing the Trump administration to make sure it is focusing ICE operations on apprehending “the worst of the worst” and people whose asylum claims have been denied, and he suggested it’s time for ICE to adjust tactics.
“Part of that pivot is you got to get a real tight, firm control over your operational culture in this town, so it doesn’t turn into Fallujah or Kandahar,” Amodei said, naming sites of bloody conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan. “I think there’s a lot of bullshit in the air right now, but guess what? The wind’s blowing at about 100 miles an hour.”
The Senate had been poised this week to approve a six-bill package to fund several government agencies, including DHS. If lawmakers fail to reach a bipartisan compromise on ICE funding, the agency’s annual funding will be delayed. However, it should still be able to carry out operations because President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act allocated billions in new funding for ICE.
FEDERAL JUDGE SKEPTICAL OF MINNESOTA’S PLEA FOR COURT TO END SWEEPING DHS OPERATION
After Good’s death, Trump led the administration in a hard-line approach against those questioning ICE tactics.
But since Pretti’s death, Trump has softened his tone and sought to de-escalate tensions in Minnesota. The president held a friendly call with Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), dispatched border czar Tom Homan to the state to hold talks with officials and directly oversee ICE, and distanced himself on Tuesday from a top White House advisor who suggested Pretti was an “assassin.”