Republican governor believes Trump is getting 'bad advice' on immigration amid outrage over ICE shooting
Oklahoma Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt said Sunday that he disagreed with aspects of the Trump administration’s immigration policies, insisting that Americans do not want to deport "every single non-U.S. citizen."
Stitt, who chairs the bipartisan National Governors Association (NGA), was asked by CNN anchor Dana Bash about his thoughts on the recent deadly shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Minneapolis on Saturday.
He called Pretti's death a "real tragedy," adding that there needs to be further immigration reform from President Donald Trump to address ongoing unrest in Minnesota.
"President Trump closed the border, promised to get violent criminals out of our country," Stitt said on "State of the Union." "And I think everybody agrees with that. But now Americans are asking themselves, what is the endgame? What is the solution? And, you know, we believe in federalism and state rights, and nobody likes feds coming into their state. And so, what’s the goal right now? Is it to deport every single non-U.S. citizen? I don’t think that’s what Americans want. We have to stop politicizing this. We need real solutions on immigration reform."
Bash asked Stitt whether he believed Trump should pull ICE agents out of Minnesota in response to the shooting.
"Well, I think that the president has to answer that question," Stitt said. "He is a dealmaker, and he’s getting bad advice right now. The president needs to tell the American people. What is the solution? How do we bring this to conclusion? And I think only the president can answer that question because it’s complicated."
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He added, "We have to enforce federal laws, but we need to know what is the endgame? And I don’t think it’s to deport every single non-U.S. citizen."
Stitt suggested that the administration instead incentivize private companies to focus on hiring Americans by penalizing employers who hire non-American workers.
"Don’t give them U.S. citizenship, but if you’re going to have an employer-employee relationship, we should be fixing that instead of politicizing this. And right now, tempers are just going crazy. And we need to calm this down," Stitt said.
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In a comment to Fox News Digital, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said, "President Trump promised to carry out the largest mass deportation operation of criminal illegal aliens, and he’s keeping his promise — including in Minnesota where heroic ICE officers have already removed illegals with additional convictions for murder, rape, assault, and more -- despite violent resistance and dangerous, untrue smears against them. Just yesterday, an officer had his finger bitten off by a radical left-wing rioter."
The White House also directed Fox News Digital to two posts made by Trump on Truth Social, calling on Democratic politicians to work with federal authorities to arrest and deport criminal illegal aliens.
"All of these requests are rooted in COMMON SENSE, and will provide the best possible circumstances to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! The Trump Administration is standing by, and waiting for ANY Democrat to do the right thing, and work with us on these important matters of MAKING AMERICA SAFE like it is in all sections of our Country where we are, together with Local Leadership, participating and involved," Trump wrote.
Pretti's death came less than one month after an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Good in Minneapolis after Good allegedly drove her vehicle towards ICE officers.
Stitt had previously partnered with ICE and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol in a comprehensive deportation effort last year dubbed Operation Guardian. The operation resulted in the arrest of 120 illegal immigrants at a port of entry near the Texas border.