WATCH: Kelly to vote against funding Homeland Security

By Chris Woodward
The Center Square

U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly has announced he will vote “no” for the Department of Homeland Security budget this week following the fatal shootings in Minneapolis.

In a speech Wednesday on the Senate floor, the Arizona Democrat said DHS needs an overhaul from the top down and the bottom up.

“Over the weekend, Americans watched what happened to Alex Pretti in Minneapolis,” Kelly told senators. “A U.S. citizen and ICU nurse at the V.A. who took care of veterans, he was shot and killed by federal agents for no good reason.”

Kelly also pointed to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s fatal shooting of Renee Good in Minnesota.

“Renee was a mother and a wife,” said Kelly. “She was shot and killed in her car, and her family will never see her again.”

The Center Square reached out Wednesday to the Department of the Homeland Security and the White House for comment, but did not hear back as of press time.

President Donald Trump has said the ICE officer who shot Good acted in self-defense after Good hit him with her car. Vice President JD Vance also addressed this in an early January White House press briefing.

Meanwhile, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defended the Border Patrol agent, saying he acted in self-defense when he shot Pretti.

In its report to Congress, Border Patrol said an agent discovered Pretti was carrying a gun.

“This individual showed up to impede a law enforcement operation and assaulted our officers,” Noem said in a story published by The Center Square. “They responded according to their training and took action to defend the officer’s life and those of the public around him.”

Kelly does not see it that way.

He described it as two Americans being dead at the hands of their government.

“This administration has lied to the American people,” said Kelly. “They have slandered these Americans as terrorists. They have told us not to believe what we see with our own eyes. They blamed Alex Pretti because he was in lawful possession of a firearm. They have tried to block the investigations into what happened.”

According to Kelly, these are not isolated incidents.

For example, Kelly said ICE recently conducted “a series of workplace raids at a sports bar in Phoenix” where officers “wore masks and tactical gear.” Kelly also mentioned a video of ICE officers doing a drive-by and spraying a woman with mace when Kelly said she was just standing on the sidewalk.

“They violated her constitutional rights,” said Kelly, the son of police officers. “These are the actions of a rogue agency that is storming cities, violating the constitutional rights of Americans, and creating volatile situations where tragedies happen.”

The Trump administration views tougher law enforcement as a way of making Americans safer. However, Kelly said this is doing the opposite.

“From a very young age, I learned that law enforcement should exist to serve and protect people,” said Kelly, a retired Navy combat pilot and former astronaut. “We can enforce our laws without this chaos. We can enforce our laws without federal agents killing people, killing people in the streets of American cities.”

These may be divisive times, but Kelly said senators should demand things be better and use their power to make it happen.

“That’s why I will not vote for the Department of Homeland Security budget this week because that agency needs an overhaul from the top down and the bottom up,” said Kelly. “The head of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, and the guy who everybody knows is actually making the decisions and calling the shots and running the show, Stephen Miller, both of them should be out of jobs because they have lost the trust of the American people.”

Miller is the deputy White House chief of staff and homeland security adviser.

Near the end of his remarks, Kelly used the opportunity to promote his legislation known as the Stop Excessive Force in Immigration Act. Co-sponsored by U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Arizona, Kelly said the bill sets limits on the use of force, and the use of firearms by immigration agents. It also restricts the use of tear gas, flash bang grenades and pepper balls.

“It requires body cameras to be used, and it restricts the use of face masks,” said Kelly. “It requires accountability and transparency so that when somebody is hurt or killed, the American people will get some answers.”