'Noem's Impeachment Is the Bare Minimum': Fury at DHS Chief Grows After Pretti Killing

Demands for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's impeachment are growing, and not just from progressive Democrats in deep-blue districts.

Rep. Lauren Gillen (D-NY), one of just seven House Democrats who voted last week for a bill that further would further increase funding for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), called for Noem's impeachment in a Sunday social media post, one day after federal immigration agents killed Minneapolis resident Alex Pretti.

"Another US citizen has been killed at the hands of ICE and there must be accountability, which is why Secretary Noem must be impeached immediately," Gillen wrote. "Under her leadership, ICE has targeted US citizens and children and killed Americans. She is not focused on safety or border security; she’s focused on chaos and self-promotion, undermining local law enforcement and stoking violence as a result. The American people deserve better."

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee, called for impeaching Noem on Saturday and then reiterated his call on Monday with a social media post that read, "It's time for impeachment!"

Sen. Jackie Rosen (D-Nev.) on Sunday also called for impeaching Noem, whom she described in a statement to the Associated Press as an "abject failure leading the Department of Homeland Security for the last year."

"The abuses of power we’re seeing from ICE are the latest proof that she has lost control over her own department and staff," Rosen added.

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), who has been demanding Noem's impeachment since an ICE agent gunned down Minneapolis resident Renee Good earlier this month, described removing the homeland security secretary from her post as only the first step in bringing an end to the federal government's attacks on immigrant communities across the country.

"Voting NO on the DHS funding bill is the bare minimum," she wrote in a Sunday social media post. "Backing Kristi Noem’s impeachment is the bare minimum. Holding law-breaking ICE agents legally accountable is the bare minimum. ICE is beyond reform. Abolish it."

Even some Republicans have started protesting the federal government's operations in Minnesota.

Chris Madel, a Republican candidate for governor in Minnesota, announced on Monday that he was suspending his campaign in the wake of Pretti's shooting.

In a video posted on social media, Madel accused the Trump administration of enacting "retribution on the citizens of our state" with an operation that has "expanded far beyond its stated focus on true public safety threats."

" United States citizens, particularly those of color, live in fear," Madel added. "United States citizens are carrying papers to prove their citizenship. That’s wrong."