One of the co-founders of the conservative group “Latinas for Trump,” Ileana Garcia, criticized the Trump administration’s immigration operations in an interview released Tuesday, saying that the draconian crackdown has created a culture of fear that will hurt Republicans in the midterms.
“It’s gone too far,” she told The New York Times. “What happened Saturday was abhorrent,” referencing the fatal shooting of Minneapolis resident Alex Pretti by immigration enforcement officers.
Following the incident, Stephen Miller, the White House homeland security adviser, posted on X that Pretti was “a domestic terrorist.” Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino said that Pretti planned to “massacre” officers.
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Garcia, a Florida state senator, said the White House’s narrative in the aftermath of Pretti’s death left her “dumbfounded.”
She also told the Times that the administration’s practice of detaining suspects in unmarked cars and wearing masks, as well as agents’ violent tactics — such as deploying tear gas and other nonlethal weapons against protesters — is scaring away midterm voters.
“I do think that he [Trump] will lose the midterms because of Stephen Miller,” Garcia said.
“Nobody in the White House, including President Trump, wants to see people getting hurt or killed in America’s streets,” she added, claiming that the killing “occurred as a result of a deliberate and hostile resistance by Democrat leaders in Minnesota.”
“Most people will come in and whisper in my ear, ‘Aren’t you afraid they’re going to primary you?’” she said. “No, I’m not.”
“I’m afraid of someone stopping my son,” she added. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”
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