Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem participates in a roundtable discussion with local ranchers and U.S. Customs and Border Protection employees in Brownsville, Texas, on Jan. 7, 2026. (Michael Gonzalez/Getty Images)
It's a notable expression of support; Gillen was one of only seven House Democrats to vote in favor of funding DHS last week as part of Congress' yearly federal appropriations process.
The surge of support comes after Alex Pretti, a nurse at Minneapolis' Veterans Affairs Medical Center, was shot and killed by a Border Patrol agent over the weekend during a wider demonstration against President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown in the Midwest city.
Noem said over the weekend that it appeared Pretti "arrived at the scene to inflict maximum damage on individuals and to kill law enforcement."
"An individual approached U.S. Border Patrol officers with a 9mm semiautomatic handgun. The officers attempted to disarm this individual, but the armed suspect reacted violently. Fearing for his life and for the lives of his fellow officers around him, an agent fired defensive shots," she said.
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But various eyewitness accounts and critics of the Trump administration have disputed claims that Pretti was brandishing a weapon, though he was confirmed to be in possession of a handgun with a legal permit to carry.
Publicly circulated video of the incident shows him approaching federal officers holding what appeared to be his phone, filming as agents knocked a female agitator to the ground.
Pretti appeared to attempt to help the female agitator when he was knocked to the ground himself. One video angle appears to show an officer removing Pretti's weapon before he was shot.
A screengrab from a video shows a law enforcement officer spraying irritants at Alex Pretti before he was fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis, on Jan. 24, 2026. (Reuters)
"Kristi Noem and her department’s latest attempt to mislead the American public regarding the brutal and unjustified killing of Alex Pretti is deeply shameful, and she must be impeached and removed from office immediately," Rosen said.
Rosen’s position carries weight, too, given that she is one of the more moderate members of the Senate Democratic caucus, and she was also one of a handful to cross the aisle to reopen the government during the longest closure in history last year.
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Senate Democrats are now ready to block the DHS funding bill as the deadline to fund the government and prevent another shutdown fast approaches.
DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital of Democrats' efforts, "DHS enforces the laws Congress passes, period. If certain members don’t like those laws, changing them is literally their job."
"While ICE officers are facing a staggering 1,300% spike in assaults, too many politicians would rather defend criminals and attack the men and women who are enforcing our laws and did nothing while Joe Biden facilitated an invasion of tens of millions of illegal aliens into our country," McLaughlin said. "It’s time they focus on protecting the American people, the work this Department is doing every day under Secretary Noem’s leadership."
Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.
Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to elizabeth.elkind@fox.com
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/more-than-half-house-democrats-back-impeachment-push-against-dhs-chief-kristi-noem