TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida’s political response to the fatal ICE shooting of U.S. citizen Alex Pretti over the weekend in Minneapolis is sharply divided.
Sunshine State leaders are now using the incident to argue competing visions of immigration enforcement.
Capitol Reporter Forrest Saunders has this look from Tallahassee.
Watch the full report here
Republicans like U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds— who’s running to succeed the governor— blamed Democrats for fueling unrest.
"What we have now seen is two Americans have lost their lives simply because Democrats don't have a policy platform for the American people," Donalds, who Florida’s 19th District, said. "All they know how to do is create unrest with the American people."
That’s while Gov. Ron DeSantis defended aggressive ICE operations and faulted Minnesota leaders for creating a hostile climate toward federal agents.
At a press conference, he blamed Minnesota leaders for fomenting division and defended Florida's cooperation with DHS.
"They're creating a toxic environment where they're really inciting people to go out and show hostility to the agents who are doing this. That is not a recipe for success," the governor said.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier echoed that message, saying the state is "leading the way" through its immigration enforcement and deportations.
"We enforce the law. We are well coordinated. We've been working well with the federal government. I think our numbers probably are far above any other state in the country, and we'll continue to do that."
In contrast, Republican state Sen. Ileana Garcia, a co-founder of Latinas for Trump, publicly condemned the shooting, saying it was "not what I voted for" in a social media post. In the post, she stressed Pretti had a permit to carry and did not draw his weapon.
That’s as gubernatorial candidate David Jolly called the killing murder.
“An American citizen practicing civil disobedience was disarmed and then shot 10 times in the street, and his body lay lifeless and he was murdered," Jolly said. "He was murdered. Kristi Noem should be removed from office…”
Florida House Democrats, led by Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell, warned the incident is a troubling sign of rising tensions.
"Could this happen in Florida? Absolutely. If this can happen in Main Street in Minnesota. It can happen anywhere in our country, and this is why we should all be so very concerned."
In a press call she said ICE needed greater oversight and cautioning that similar violence could happen in Florida if rhetoric and enforcement escalate.
The fatal shooting of Pretti has sent shockwaves through the nation and divided Florida’s political leaders, more than 1300 miles away.
There are multiple immigration bills in the mix this legislative session.
Among them — universal E-Verify work verifications.
While it’s cleared the House, it faces an uncertain future in the Florida Senate.
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