Greg Abbott says ICE needs to ‘recalibrate’ mission after Minnesota shooting

HOUSTON (AP) – Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday said the White House needs to “recalibrate” Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s mission to rebuild public trust after immigration agents shot and killed a second protester in Minnesota over the weekend. Abbott said immigration officials should “get back to what they wanted to do to begin with — and that is to remove people from the country who are here illegally.” “In general, we need to have respect for law enforcement officers in the country. ICE, they are law enforcement officers,” the Texas Republican said on conservative radio host Mark Davis’ show Monday morning. “So they, being the White House, need to recalibrate on what needs to be done to make sure that that respect is going to be reinstilled. And that’s not an easy task, especially under the current circumstances.”

He said he believes the administration is working on a “game plan” for immigration agents to “go about their job in a more structured way to make sure that they are going to be able to remove these people, but without causing all the kinds of problems and fighting in communities that they are experiencing right now.” Abbott’s comments come as a growing number of Republicans are pressing for a deeper investigation into federal immigration tactics in Minnesota after a U.S. Border Patrol agent fatally shot Alex Pretti, an intensive care nurse who was protesting in Minneapolis. But Abbott largely blamed Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz for the unrest in the state. He accused Walz, a Democrat, and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey of “literally inciting violence” in their condemnation of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown there. Abbott said the “fights on the streets” are “fomented by the governor up there, by the mayor up there.”