Another Government Shutdown Looms Amid Minnesota Immigration Showdown

The Customs and Border Protection shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis could cause Washington to shut the government down for the second time in three months.

Senate Democrats signaled over the weekend that they would not vote for a bill that would fund the federal government through the end of the fiscal year, which contains funding for the Department of Homeland Security. CBP and Immigration and Customs Enforcement — whose agents were involved in the shooting of Renee Good — both fall under the DHS umbrella.

“After their son was killed in broad daylight, they are now forced to defend him against this administration’s lies,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said on X. “It’s another reason why Senate Democrats are united in rejecting this DHS spending bill.”

The House of Representatives already voted on spending bills before adjourning ahead of a major snowstorm descending on the capital. The House is not likely to return in time to avert a partial shutdown should the Senate somehow reach a deal, Punchbowl News reported.

“The Trump Administration and [Homeland Security Secretary] Kristi Noem are putting undertrained, combative federal agents on the streets with no accountability,” Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) said in a statement on Saturday.

“They are oppressing Americans and are at odds with local law enforcement,” she added. “This is clearly not about keeping Americans safe, it’s brutalizing U.S. citizens and law-abiding immigrants.”

It’s unclear exactly how a shutdown would impact CBP and ICE. Much of the president’s immigration agenda was funded through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, funding that would not be interrupted by a shutdown.

Last year, the United States faced the largest federal government shutdown in history for 43 days over a debate regarding Affordable Care Act subsidies.

Aside from the looming shutdown, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) is requesting testimony from CBP, ICE, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services over “border security and immigration enforcement” in hearings either in February or March, according to letters sent by the congressman on Saturday.

In Minnesota, Homeland Security’s Operation Metro Surge has led to thousands of arrests of people in the country illegally, but it’s also led to serious clashes with anti-ICE protests in the region — and staunch opposition from Democrats in the state.

“They think they can provoke us into abandoning our values. They are wrong. We will keep the peace. We will secure justice for our neighbors. And we will see this occupation end,” Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D) posted to X on Saturday night.

The Trump administration has stated that Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey need to tone down the rhetoric in the state.

“The Minnesota governor and the Minneapolis mayor need to take a long, hard look in the mirror,” Noem said at a Saturday press conference. “They need to evaluate their rhetoric, their conversations, and their encouragement of such violence against our citizens and our law enforcement officers.”

Trump Says He’s Skipping Super Bowl, Slams ‘Terrible’ Halftime Act

President Trump confirmed he’s not attending the Super Bowl this year, complaining about the slate of performers and saying it ultimately came down to the distance he’d have to travel.

Trump told The New York Post during an Oval Office interview that he wasn’t pleased with the selection of Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny for the halftime show, or with the addition of Green Day for the opening ceremony. Both bands have made statements against the Trump administration and their policies.

“I’m anti-them. I think it’s a terrible choice. All it does is sow hatred. Terrible,” the president said. He also noted that his reason for skipping was that the Super Bowl is being played this year in California.

“It’s just too far away. I would. I’ve [gotten] great hands [at] the Super Bowl. They like me,” Trump told NY Post. “I would go if, you know, it was a little bit shorter.”

Trump made history as the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl while in office last year when he watched the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22. That game took place in New Orleans.

Trump already said it was “absolutely ridiculous” that Bad Bunny was selected to perform at Super Bowl LX this year.

“This guy does not seem like a unifying entertainer and a lot of folks don’t even know who he is,” Newsmax’s Greg Kelly said during a phone interview in October, as The Daily Wire previously reported. Kelly asked Trump if people should “entertain blowing off the NFL.”

“I never heard of him. I don’t know who he is, I don’t know why they’re doing it, it’s crazy, and then they blame it on some promoter that they hired to pick up entertainment, I think it’s absolutely ridiculous,” Trump added.

Bad Bunny, whose real name is Benito Ocasio, had already said he refused to perform in the United States due to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers doing their jobs and enforcing federal immigration laws.

Ocasio referred to ICE agents as “motherf***ers” and “sons of b****es” in a video he posted to Instagram.

The three-time Grammy Award-winner said during an interview that he didn’t book any tour stops in the United States because he was worried ICE agents would target concert attendees.

“There was the issue of — like, f***ing ICE could be outside. And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about.”

Social media users also pointed out that none of Bad Bunny’s songs are in English. He later addressed the backlash he and the NFL received following the announcement, advising viewers to learn Spanish if they didn’t like it.

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