Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson and Attorney General Nick Brown held a press conference Monday to emphatically condemn federal actions in Minnesota after ICE agents killed two civilians this month.

Ferguson and Brown and explained their preparations should the Trump administration crack down similarly in Washington state.

“We will not allow this administration to turn our nation into an authoritarian regime,” Ferguson said. “That is not our America.”

The press conference was light on details. Both Ferguson and Brown said minutes before, they signed a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem saying that an internal memo reportedly giving Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers the direction to enter homes without judicial warrants violates the Constitution’s Fourth Amendment.

“ICE cannot authorize itself to break into somebody’s home,” Brown said. “In our letter, we emphasize that if ICE attempts any such unconstitutional measures in Washington state, we will use every legal option available to us to hold the federal government accountable.”

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Ferguson said he met with the state’s top National Guard leader, Major General Gent Welsh, yesterday to discuss Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s deployment of that state’s National Guard and “chat through different scenarios.”

“I will not go into detail about that conversation for reasons I hope you understand, but I want the people of our state to know that I’ll take whatever steps are necessary to keep our residents safe,” Ferguson said.

When he was attorney general, Ferguson sued Trump 99 times during the president’s first term. Brown, in the last year as Ferguson’s successor, has already sued the federal government 50 times.

“People have asked what we can do if ICE descends on Washington state, as they have in Minnesota,” Brown said. “And I will not speculate on our strategy. I’m not going to hand our playbook to them, but I can tell you that my staff, working closely with Governor Ferguson, has monitored the situation in Minnesota and Minneapolis very, very closely.”

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Oregon legislators and Gov. Tina Kotek are also planning steps to push back against some of the federal government’s tactics to enforce immigration. Gov. Kotek held a press conference in Salem on Saturday, with other state leaders to discuss the local impacts of “increased and aggressive immigration enforcement actions by federal agents.”

The press conference was planned before federal agents shot and killed 37-year-old Alex Pretti at a protest in Minneapolis, but Kotek spoke about Pretti’s death as an example of her fears.

“We’re going to continue to see violent interactions, regardless of the details, because of the escalation of the federal government,” she said when asked about the shooting. “And they need to pull back on the agents who are there, work with local government, and resolve and de-escalate the situation.”

In mid-January, Oregon legislators also introduced a slew of bills targeting the federal government’s immigration enforcement tactics. These include bills to prevent law enforcement officers from concealing their identityand efforts to restrict state contracting with companies that support deportation. Oregon lawmakers meet in Salem for their even-year short session starting Feb. 2.

Viral videos of Alex Pretti’s killing Saturday have struck even some elected Republicans, such as Congressman Michael Baumgartner of Spokane, as “disturbing.”

“It’s critically important that the American people and Congress be given a better understanding of how immigration enforcement is being handled,” Baumgartner wrote on X Saturday, “including the methods federal law enforcement officers are using to prioritize, identify and arrest suspected targets, the training they are receiving, the implementation of body cameras, the threats they face in conducting operations and the challenges posed by sanctuary cities and states.”

Baumgartner applauded the chair of the House Homeland Security Committee for calling a full committee hearing on the shooting.

Other Republicans, such as Rep. Jim Walsh, a state legislator from Aberdeen and chairman of the Washington State GOP, doubled down.

“ICE agents” are enforcing the law.

The Left is turning up the deceitful rhetoric.

"ICE agents" are enforcing the law.
The Left is turning up the deceitful rhetoric.
Also: The United States is a constitutional republic, Mr. Current Governor. pic.twitter.com/WEu2icEJmI

— Jim Walsh (@JimWalshLD19) January 24, 2026

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/01/26/washington-governor-attorney-general-condemn-minnesota-ice-shootings-not-our-america/