WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans are increasingly 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.
Although few are willing to publicly break with the president, there has been a crescendo of criticism as Republicans move the White House to change course. A looming weekend funding deadline has brought the issue to the fore in Congress, with Democrats vowing to block Homeland Security funding without significant changes and Republicans struggling to find their footing.
“This is about regaining the trust of the American people on this issue, and I really think we’re losing on an issue that we should be winning on,” Senator 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 other members of his party who are considering outrage over the Minneapolis deaths while also trying to avoid going against Trump.
But others are also speaking out after 37-year-old Alex Pretti was killed on Saturday, just weeks after Renee Good, also 37, was 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 happening in Minneapolis.”
Historically, the party in control of the White House loses ground in Congress during the 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’m not seeing that in any of the polls that I’ve seen on the Republican side.”
Noem is a target of criticism
For Republicans uncomfortable with the administration’s enforcement tactics but reluctant to criticize Trump directly, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has become the focal point for their anxiety.
“I think you have a secretary right now who needs to be held accountable for the chaos and some of the tragedies that we’ve seen,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who said Noem should step down. She added that “we need clarity and responsibility for the chaos and tragedy we have seen.”
Trump said that Noem is “doing a very good job” and will remain in his administration. The Democrats said she should be impeached, although they do not have the necessary influence on Capitol Hill to achieve this while the Republicans have the majority.
Immigration has been one of Trump’s signature issues, and voters were even more likely to accept his hardline position in 2024 than they were in previous campaigns. Republicans remain overwhelmingly supportive of 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 to be replaced, said that the president is jeopardizing this.
“He won on a strong message about immigration,” Tillis said. “And now nobody’s talking about that. 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 nation’s most competitive Senate races. Sen. Susan Collins, who is up 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 use government funds to express repression
Lawmakers are using the Jan. 31 deadline to pass government funding legislation as a pressure tactic to bring about change. Trump has already signed into law six of the 12 annual spending bills for the current budget year, but six more are still awaiting 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. First-term Senator Ted Budd of North Carolina said on social media that while he supported Trump’s immigration goals, he hoped the president’s decision to reshuffle staff in Minnesota would lead to “orderly and systematic operations” focused on the most dangerous criminals.
There was a marked change in tone at the top following Pretti’s death on Saturday. In an interview late Tuesday, 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 soon 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