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Republicans are increasingly wrestling with whether President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement campaign will help or hurt them politically as the midterm elections approach, after two people were killed during federal enforcement activity in Minneapolis. The Associated Press reported that, although few Republicans have publicly broken with Trump, criticism has grown in the wake of the deaths and is now surfacing in Congress and across competitive races.
Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican who is retiring at the end of his term, told reporters on Capitol Hill that he believes the party is losing ground on immigration at a time when it should be winning on the issue. In his remarks, Tillis tied the current political focus to the Minneapolis deaths and said Republicans were instead being pulled into talk about the “incompetence” of Homeland Security leadership rather than about border security.
AP reported that the political discomfort extends beyond Tillis. Jason Roe, a Republican strategist working on midterm campaigns, said the administration “has lost control of the narrative,” adding that Republicans cannot “get out from underneath what’s happening in Minneapolis.” Roe also said he was not seeing the level of urgency he expects to help Republicans politically, pointing to frustration Democrats have shown and polling he has seen from the Republican side.
The reporting also described how GOP criticism has concentrated on Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem among Republicans uneasy about enforcement tactics but reluctant to challenge Trump directly. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said Noem should step down, arguing she needs to be accountable for “the chaos and some of the tragedy” seen during the crackdown. Democrats have urged impeachment, while Republicans hold the majority on Capitol Hill and would need the necessary clout to pursue such action.
Elsewhere, the issue is playing out in how funding is used as leverage in Congress. With a Jan. 31 deadline looming for passing government funding legislation, Democrats have said they would block Homeland Security funding unless there are significant changes. A number of Senate Republicans, the AP reported, have indicated they could be open to separating Homeland Security funding from a broader package to allow further debate, even as they advance other spending bills.
In the AP account, the political pressure appears likely to sharpen after Alex Pretti was killed Saturday, weeks after Renee Good, also 37, was fatally shot. Sen. Susan Collins, who is up for reelection, said Tuesday that she had asked the administration to pause the surge of immigration enforcement operations in Maine and Minnesota. First-term Sen. Ted Budd, meanwhile, struck a more cautious tone on the issue, writing on social media that while he supports Trump’s immigration goals, he hopes personnel changes in Minnesota will lead to “orderly and systematic operations” focused on the most dangerous offenders.
The reporting also described attempts by top officials to adjust enforcement posture in Minneapolis after the deaths. In an interview late Tuesday, Trump told ABC News that he hoped the presence of “border czar” Tom Homan—who replaced Gregory Bovino as the on-the-ground point person—would allow for “a little bit more relaxed” and “de-escalated” operation. At the same time, Trump reacted angrily to comments from Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, posting on social media that Frey was “PLAYING WITH FIRE” after Frey said Homeland Security should end its operation “as quickly as possible.”