Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) admitted that he had "failed" after voting for Department of Homeland Security funding that enabled the federal government's reign of violence in Minnesota.
On Monday, Suozzi responded to a DHS officer killing 37-year-old Alex Pretti by apologizing to his constituents.
"I failed to view the DHS funding vote as a referendum on the illegal and immoral conduct of ICE in Minneapolis," the lawmaker wrote in a campaign email. "I hear the anger from many of my constituents, and I take responsibility for that. I have long been critical of ICE's unlawful behavior, and I must do a better job demonstrating that."
"The senseless and tragic murder of Alex Pretti underscores what happens when untrained federal agents operate without accountability. President Trump must immediately end 'Operation Metro Surge' and ICE's occupation of Minneapolis that has sown chaos, led to tragedy, and undermined experienced local law enforcement," he added.
Columnist Brian Beutler noted that Democrats had a chance to block the DHS funding bill but chose not to.
"When Republicans voted last year to give immigration enforcement a military-sized budget, they pretended they didn't know the money would be used this way," he wrote. "But of course they knew — and if they didn't, it would be a disqualifying admission for a public official. They are paid to anticipate how the policies they enact will affect the public."
"When the people casting bad votes for cynical reasons are Republicans, we can all see it clearly. As Republicans start to say they're shocked to see the abuses they voted to fund, we don't let them off the hook. We understand they're making a poor excuse," he observed. "But it's the same excuse, the only excuse, these Democrats have left for themselves."
Rep. Tom Suozzi(D-NY), getting raked over the coals for his vote for more ICE funding, says in a campaign email that he didn’t understand what he was doing
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— Laura Bassett (@lebassett.bsky.social) January 26, 2026 at 11:03 AM