WASHINGTON — 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 nudge the White House to change course. A looming end-of-week funding deadline has brought the issue to a head 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,” Sen. Thom Tillis told reporters on Capitol Hill.
The North Carolina Republican is retiring at the end of his term, making him more willing to talk candidly than other members of his party who are reckoning with outrage over the Minneapolis deaths while also trying to avoid getting crosswise with Trump.
But others are also speaking out after Alex Pretti, 37, was killed Saturday, just weeks after Renee Good, also 37, was fatally shot.
“The administration has lost control of the narrative,” said Jason Roe, a Republican strategist working on midterm campaigns. He said, “We can’t get out from underneath 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 they cannot wait to go vote,” said Roe. “And I just am not seeing that in any polling I’ve seen on the Republican side.”
Noem is a target of criticism
For Republicans uneasy 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 that needs to be accountable to the chaos and some of the tragedy that we have seen,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who said Noem should step down. She added that “we need clarity and accountability for the chaos and tragedy we have seen.”
Trump has said Noem is “doing a very good job” and would remain in his administration. Democrats said she should be impeached, although they lack the necessary clout on Capitol Hill to achieve that while Republicans have the majority.
Immigration has been one of Trump’s signature issues, and voters were even more likely to accept his hardline stance in 2024 than they were in previous campaigns. Republicans remain overwhelmingly supportive of his work on immigration, according to a Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey conducted in January.
Tillis, who has also called for Noem to be replaced, said the president is jeopardizing that.
“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.”
The concerns have spilled into Maine, home to one of the nation’s most competitive Senate races. 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 her state and Minnesota.
Republicans use government funding to express pushback
Lawmakers are using the Jan. 31 deadline for passing government funding legislation as a pressure tactic to inflict change. Trump has already signed into law six of the 12 annual spending bills for the current budget year, but six more still await approval in the Senate, including funding for Homeland Security.
A growing number of Senate Republicans have said they would be open to Democrats’ demand to separate Homeland Security funding from the broader package for further debate, while advancing the remaining bills.
Other Republicans have struck a more cautious tone. First-term Sen. Ted Budd of North Carolina said on social media that while he supports Trump’s immigration goals, he was hopeful that the president’s decision to reshuffle personnel in Minnesota would lead to “orderly and systematic operations” focused on the most dangerous offenders.
There’s been a noticeable tone shift at the top following Pretti’s death Saturday. In an interview late Tuesday, the president told ABC News that he hoped the presence of border czar Tom Homan — who this week replaced the Border Patrol’s Gregory Bovino as his on-the-ground point person — would allow for “a little bit 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 operation “as quickly as possible,” posting on social media that the mayor was “PLAYING WITH FIRE.”