Gov. Kathy Hochul on Sunday demanded the resignation, firing or impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino.
The New York governor told reporters that Noem needs to give up her post after another fatal shooting by federal agents of a protester during immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis.
“Kristi Noem has forfeited her right to lead, and I’m calling on her to resign or [President] Donald Trump to do the right thing and fire her,” Hochul told reporters in Albany.
“If not, she must be removed or impeached.”
Hochul hinted at future legal action against Trump, Noem and Bovino over the feds’ immigration enforcement operations.
“It’s a shame I have to say this in America, but no one is above the law,” the governor said. “Not an ICE agent, not a federal officer, not the president of the United States.”
She added that when top Trump administration officials are out of power, “states including New York will hold them accountable.
“I will have more to report on further actions the state of New York will be taking in the coming days,” the governor said.
Neither Hochul nor DHS, Border Patrol or the White House responded to Post requests for comment.
Democratic officials erupted in outrage after the fatal shooting of armed anti-ICE protester Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old Minneapolis ICU nurse, by federal agents in Minnesota on Saturday.
Pretti’s death, which was captured in multiple bystander videos, touched off protests in the Twin Cities and drew condemnation from scores of governors, lawmakers and civil-rights groups who say the use of force was unjustified.
The killing of Pretti marked the second recent fatal shooting of a US citizen by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis. It occurred just weeks after Renée Nicole Good was shot and killed by an ICE officer amid the administration’s sweeping “Operation Metro Surge” crackdown.
Federal authorities said the shooting of Good by an ICE officer was an act of self-defense, repeatedly describing the 37-year-old married mom as having committed “domestic terrorism.”
Noem said Good “attempted to run a law enforcement officer over” and had “weaponized her vehicle,” a characterization echoed by President Trump, Vice President JD Vance and border czar Tom Homan, who said her actions “certainly could fall within that definition.”
Federal authorities Saturday also framed the fatal shooting of Pretti as a justified response to a lethal threat, saying the armed protester “violently resisted” agents during an immigration enforcement operation.
Bovino said Pretti approached officers with a “9mm semi-automatic” handgun and posed a grave danger, claiming the situation involved someone who “wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement,” while praising agents for taking him down “before he was able to do that.”
Noem said Pretti was not a peaceful protester because he arrived “with a gun and ammunition rather than a sign,” while Trump and senior aides labeled him a “gunman” and “domestic terrorist.”
Federal officials said agents acted according to their training to defend themselves, maintaining in both cases that deadly force was necessary to protect officers’ lives during volatile enforcement operations in Minneapolis.
