Nebraska Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts called for a prioritized, transparent investigation into the death of Alex Pretti during immigration enforcement in Minneapolis this weekend, while reaffirming support for ICE funding, in a statement shared over the past 59 minutes ending at 10:45 p.m. UTC on Jan. 25, 2026, according to an X post by journalist Max Cohen. Ricketts stated, "The nation witnessed a horrifying situation this weekend. My prayers are with the family of Alex Pretti. My support for funding ICE remains the same. Enforcing our immigration laws makes our streets safer. It also protects our national security. But we must also maintain our core values as a nation, including the right to protest and assemble. I expect a prioritized, transparent investigation into this incident." Rep. Brandon Gill accused Democrats of placing federal law enforcement in impossible situations through sanctuary city policies and rhetoric encouraging resistance to ICE, stating Republicans must continue immigration enforcement without capitulation, according to his X post during the reporting window. These Republican statements follow a Rasmussen Reports poll released earlier on Jan. 25 showing President Donald Trump's approval on immigration handling at 39% in January 2026, down from 53% in August 2025, as cited by @IAPolls2022 on X. The remarks come amid Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's call to detach the DHS funding bill for rewriting, per Politico, and House Democrats' condemnations of the Pretti incident, including Rep. Vicente Gonzalez describing it as "murdering American citizens," as reported by journalist Ken Klippenstein.
