Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., on Wednesday called for the firing and prosecution of federal immigration enforcement officers who defend themselves against people who weaponize their cars and end up dead because of it.
During the confirmation hearing of Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who has been nominated for the permanent position, Padilla opened by asking about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Texas and Maine shooting two illegal aliens. The illegal aliens allegedly refused to comply with the officers, instead dangerously fleeing the scene in one case, and attempting to ram into officers in the other, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Padilla initially asked whether Blanche thought state and local law enforcement should be involved in independent investigations regarding federal officer-involved shootings, and then suggested that the Department of Justice should have a role in investigating such cases at DHS. But he quickly pivoted to suggesting that officers whose lives are put at risk by agitators or illegals should automatically be fired for acting in self-defense.
“Here’s the bottom line: Why I’m asking these two questions, because in prior incidents — you referenced Minnesota earlier in your testimony — Alex Pretti and Renee Good were also fatally shot, and as far as we can tell, it’s been months and months,” Padilla said. “There’s been no justice in these cases. As far as I can tell, those officers were not fired, they have not faced any charges. So it does undermine any confidence anybody should have in the Department of Homeland Security’s ability, through the Inspector General or otherwise, to investigate its own.”
Blanche responded, stating, “I very much disagree with the statement you just made. The mere passage of time between January and today doesn’t mean there’s no justice.”
In all four cases, available evidence points to each person refusing to comply with lawful orders of federal agents, and in every case making extremely dangerous decisions that appear to span from the direct targeting of police officers with their vehicles, to putting them and others at risk by fleeing, or in Pretti’s case, obstructing law enforcement officers and then resisting.
As DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin stated Wednesday, “As our officers carry out operations to enforce our nations laws, they are facing a more than 1,300% increase in vehicle attacks.”
Pretti’s case is the only one that did not involve alleged weaponization or reckless use of a vehicle, and it included a confusing and chaotic timeline of events involving his carrying of a gun and an officer apparently believing he was reaching for it while another officer was removing it from his person.
Even so, that does not automatically condemn the officer who shot him, as Padilla would apparently have it, or even suggest that the officer will be found to have improperly discharged his weapon, given the circumstances of Pretti’s confrontation.
When Padilla claims that “what we have seen is people continuing to die, not just in detention facilities, but on the streets of America,” he is leaving out the fact that Democrats encourage these people to put themselves in dangerous situations where their agitation dramatically increases the chances of a deadly confrontation.
As my colleague Eddie Scarry points out, “Deportations are only deadly because of Democrat resistance.” Left-wing agitators are willing to give their lives to protect rapists and murderers from justice.
The anti-immigration law agitation is coordinated, too. As The Federalist reported, many illegal aliens are coached on how to resist police, and the American agitators shielding them are part of a unified network.
Mullin pointed to more examples of this:
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez hosted a webinar providing tips for illegal aliens to evade arrests at homes, workplaces, or in public.
Dan Goldman posted a video online calling on illegal aliens to make a plan for ICE encounters.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued multilingual flyers and online resources advising illegal aliens on how to evade arrest.
California Governor Gavin Newsom released guides and sanctuary laws advising illegal aliens how to recognize ICE, block entry, and defy arrest.
Despite a moment Tuesday where Mullin appeared to cave to the mob, legitimizing leftist agitator tactics by blocking all ICE officers from using traffic stops — their most important enforcement tool — President Donald Trump put the department back on track, and appears to now have zero appetite for allowing the left to control mass deportation.
“Our #1 goal is to keep our officers safe and get criminals OFF our streets. Illegal aliens will be arrested and deported wherever they are. If you are here illegally, LEAVE NOW,” Mullin said. “We remind illegal aliens attempting to evade arrest is dangerous. This reckless illegal alien activity comes after sanctuary politicians held webinars and shared resources for how to openly defy [ICE].”
