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Chris Madel says Minnesota immigration crackdown ‘not the United States … we want to be’
MLN -27 JAN 2026:Chris Madel, an attorney who ended his Republican campaign for Minnesota governor on Monday following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by a Border Patrol official, sharply criticized the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operations in the state, saying they have spread fear among U.S. citizens.
“There are people right now that are living in fear, that are United States citizens, that are staying home right now and feeling like they can’t go outside without bringing their papers,” Madel said in an interview with NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo. “They’re bringing their passports out.”
“This is not the United States that any of us grew up and believe, in our hearts, that we want to be,” he added.
Earlier Monday, Madel announced he was dropping out of the race for governor, saying in a video statement that he “cannot support the national Republican stated retribution on the citizens of our state, nor can I count myself a member of a party that would do so.”
Madel, who is also the attorney for Jonathan Ross , the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who fatally shot 37-year-old Renee Good in Minneapolis earlier this month , said he supports deporting violent undocumented immigrants but argued that the administration’s Minnesota operation has gone well beyond that goal.
“The administration’s Minnesota operation has expanded far beyond its stated focus on true public safety threats,” Madel said.
“United States citizens, particularly those of color, live in fear,” he continued. “United States citizens are carrying papers to prove their citizenship. That’s wrong.”
Pretti’s death came less than three weeks after Good was shot and killed in her vehicle, further intensifying criticism of the federal immigration presence in Minnesota. The Trump administration surged ICE and Border Patrol personnel into the state earlier this month amid a federal investigation into alleged social services fraud.
President Donald Trump spoke Monday with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. Frey said in a post on social media that the president “agreed the present situation can’t continue” and that some federal agents would begin leaving the Minneapolis area Tuesday, including Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino.
Frey also said he is scheduled to meet Tuesday with White House border czar Tom Homan, whom Trump announced would take over oversight of federal immigration operations in Minnesota.
