1. United States
2. Ind.
3. Letter

Dear Member of Congress, I am writing to urge you to immediately withdraw your support for the current Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill. On January 24, 2026, federal immigration agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old American citizen and ICU nurse, during an enforcement operation in Minneapolis. Despite initial claims that this was an act of self-defense, video evidence shows Mr. Pretti holding a phone, attempting to assist others, being pepper-sprayed, wrestled to the ground by multiple agents, disarmed, and then shot multiple times while already restrained and unarmed. One agent was even recorded celebrating afterward. The continued insistence by DHS and President Trump that this was a justified use of force—despite overwhelming video evidence to the contrary—is not only gaslighting, it is an insult to the public and a threat to the rule of law. The idea that a federal agency can kill a citizen on camera, deny reality, and claim absolute immunity should alarm EVERY member of Congress. This was not an isolated incident. Just weeks earlier, on January 7, federal immigration agents also fatally shot Renée Good, another American citizen, in Minneapolis. Two fatal encounters, both denied, both minimized, both dismissed in the face of video evidence, point to a systemic failure—not a tragic anomaly. The lack of training, guardrails, oversight, and accountability within DHS enforcement units demands urgent intervention. At this point, these agents are behaving as the very domestic threat they claim to be combating. Taxpayers should not be forced to fund an agency that celebrates its ability to kill without consequence, denies documented evidence, and operates without meaningful accountability. Congress controls the purse strings. Continuing to fund DHS without immediate, enforceable reforms signals complicity. This must stop. It must stop now. I urge you to withhold support for DHS funding until there is a full, independent investigation, transparent accountability, and concrete reforms to prevent further loss of life.