Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky said he will be pressing Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Todd Lyons for an apology for the deaths of Minnesota anti-ICE protesters Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
Lyons is due to testify before the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Thursday, Mediaite reported.
On Tuesday, Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of California asked Lyons while he was testifying before the House Homeland Security Committee, “Will you apologize to the family of Renee Good for being called a domestic terrorist by the president and his leadership?”
“No, sir,” Lyons responded.
“Why not?” Swalwell followed up.
“Sir, I welcome the opportunity to speak to the family in private, but I’m not going to comment on any active investigation,” Lyons answered.
Todd Lyons, who is the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), refused to publicly apologize for the deaths of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota during a congressional hearing on Tuesday.
“No, sir,” Lyons answered after Rep. Eric Swalwell,… pic.twitter.com/v2xzsckw4X
— The National Desk (@TND) February 11, 2026
Swalwell also wanted to know if the director would apologize to Pretti’s family before the committee.
Lyons said he would not.
Appearing on “CBS Mornings” on Wednesday, Paul responded, “When a mistake of this magnitude happens, the first thing should be an apology, and it should be regret. It should be sadness, and it should be, ‘We are going to do better, and this is the policy, and we’re going to make sure it’s enforced.’”
CBS host Vladimir Duthiers asked the lawmaker, “You do believe that the killings of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti were mistakes. Yesterday in that House hearing, acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, he refused to apologize to those families. Will you push back if that’s his response?”
“Absolutely, because one of their responses is, ‘Oh, it’s in the middle of an investigation, we’re not going to comment.’ Well, we have at least four members of the administration who commented immediately. Within hours of the video being posted, within hours of the shooting, they had drawn conclusions,” Paul replied.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) says the deadly shootings of U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minnesota were “a mistake,” adding that immigration officials should apologize to their families.
Paul, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental… pic.twitter.com/KN2mrYRYS1
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) February 11, 2026
“Now weeks later, with everybody having seen the video, they’re going to say, ‘Oh, we’re not going to draw conclusions,’” the lawmaker added. “No, they need to draw better conclusions. They need to be more judicious, and they need to be more fair-minded in their thinking, because no one in the public seeing those videos is believing what they’re saying.”
Both Good and Pretti were shot when they inserted themselves in the middle of ICE operations. Good tried to plow into an officer with her car, and the officer then shot her. Before that, Good had refused multiple commands to exit the vehicle.
🚨 JUST IN: NEW POV FOOTAGE released of the Minneapolis ICE agent that shot and killed woman who tried to run him over with her vehicle
He was DIRECTLY IN FRONT of the car as she floored it, you can hear the engine rev up
The agent then discharged his firearm.
CLEAR CUT, CASE… pic.twitter.com/lpYXL3IPfm
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 9, 2026
Pretti was armed and actively resisting arrest when he was shot after an officer called out, “He’s got a gun,” CNN reported.
Alex Pretti was not merely “observing” law enforcement with his cell phone.
He put his hands on a law enforcement officer.
He got in between the officer and the woman and initiated physical contact with the officer.
Watch for yourself. pic.twitter.com/8lRITLuX60
— Liz Wheeler (@Liz_Wheeler) January 28, 2026
Last week, President Donald Trump told NBC News that his administration could use a “softer touch” when it comes to its enforcement of immigration laws.
NBC News host Tom Llamas asked the president what his takeaways were from the ongoing ICE operations in Minnesota.
“I learned that maybe we could use a little bit of a softer touch. But you still have to be tough,” Trump said. “We’re dealing with really hard criminals. But look, I’ve called the people. I’ve called the governor. I’ve called the mayor. Spoke to ‘em. Had great conversations with them. And then I see them ranting and raving out there. Literally as though a call wasn’t made.”
The president further stated that it was his call to send border czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis and to reduce the number of federal officers on the ground.
Homan told reporters that he has been receiving increased cooperation from local officials in turning over illegal aliens with criminal records to ICE at the jailhouse and prisons, allowing him to draw down his force.
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