The Democratic members of Colorado’s congressional delegation on Tuesday called for Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to resign or be impeached in the wake of the second fatal shooting by federal immigration agents in Minnesota this month amid mounting criticism of the Trump administration’s deportation policies.

In addition, the state’s two Democratic senators, Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, said they won’t support a legislative package that includes annual funding for the department without imposing restraints on Border Patrol and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations — potentially leading to a partial government shutdown at the end of the week.

President Donald Trump has already rejected the idea of Noem stepping down. Meanwhile, a Republican congressman urged parties to wait for the results of a full investigation before making final conclusions about the latest shooting.

In an online press conference with Hickenlooper and the state’s four Democratic House members, Bennet said that Saturday’s fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti by federal agents during an enforcement operation in Minneapolis highlighted the urgency of pushing for reforms.

“In pursuit of accountability, we must constrain ICE and CPB and DHS, including prohibiting the detainment of children, requiring warrants and banning agents from wearing masks,” Bennet said. He called the appropriations package set for a vote in the Senate this week “a blank check to Secretary Noem, without sufficient guardrails or requirements or transparency, accountability or oversight.”

Noting that he’d earlier said he opposes increased funding for the immigration-enforcement agencies, Bennet added: “The events over this weekend have only underscored my position and the desperate need for real reform. In the absence of that, the Senate must reject this appropriations bill.”

Hickenlooper echoed his colleague’s sentiments and listed additional demands Democratic senators are making in order to provide the support the funding package needs to clear a procedural hurdle.

Calling the Trump administration’s stepped-up deportation actions “despicable,” Hickenlooper said, “I think that this is going to be, hopefully, the straw that just breaks the camel’s back, and we can get these reforms that we’re demanding — that Secretary Noem agrees to leave office, to unmask the officers and keep them away from schools and churches, sensitive locations.”

Democratic senators have been negotiating with Republicans and the White House ahead of Friday’s deadline to avert a shutdown that would affect departments covered by the bill, known as a “minibus,” which has already passed the Republican-controlled House. If the Senate makes any changes to the legislation, it would have to go back to the other chamber for approval, but the House is on recess until next week.

“If there is a shutdown, it’s going to be because President Trump is so far outside the mainstream of conventional American approaches to the Constitution and law enforcement that he’s unwilling to allow those rules to apply to ICE, and I think it would be a huge mistake on his part,” Bennet said.

U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen, a Lakewood Democrat, said she organized the press call to “set the record straight” about Pretti, whose worked as an intensive care nurse at a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs hospital and whose parents, Michael and Susan Pretti, live in Arvada and are her constituents.

“I joined the nation in mourning the tragic loss of Alex Pretti, and our hearts are with Alex’s family and loved ones, who not only tragically lost him but lost him because he was murdered by our own government, and now the government is spreading horrific lies about who he was an what happened,” a visibly shaken Pettersen said.

“Every Republican, Democrat and citizen should be absolutely horrified by what we’re seeing,” Pettersen said. “And while I appreciate that some Republicans are beginning to speak up and demand that there is an investigation, we need more.”

Noem has faced increasing calls for her removal or impeachment after labelling Pretti a “domestic terrorist” and claiming that he intended to kill law enforcement officers.

Federal agents shot Pretti on Saturday after DHS claimed Pretti approached agents armed with a handgun. The statement did not specify whether the gun was in the man’s hands or on his body, though Noem said Saturday in a press conference that Pretti was “brandishing” a weapon.

Video reviewed by the Gazette shows Pretti holding a cellphone, rather than a gun, as he tries to intervene with a federal agent pushing a woman to the ground. 

The agent pepper-sprays Pretti, and, soon after, at least five agents attempt to subdue Pretti, according to the review. While Pretti is on the ground, one agent appears to remove Pretti’s weapon from his waistband and away from the scene. A different agent fires multiple shots seconds later.

Local officials have described Pretti as a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry.

On Tuesday, two Republican senators, North Carolina’s Thom Tillis and Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski, called on Noem to step down.

President Donald Trump signaled that it isn’t in the cards.

“I think she’s doing a very good job,” Trump told reporters at the White House. Asked if Noem would depart, the president replied: “No.”

Colorado’s Democratic members of Congress have all said they support impeaching Noem, and on Tuesday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said his caucus plans to move ahead with articles of impeachment, though the chances in the GOP-controlled chamber are dim. 

U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd, a Grand Junction Republican, in a statement issued Monday, called for a “full, independent, and transparent investigation before conclusions are drawn” about Saturday’s shooting.

He added: “Accountability, the rule of law, and public trust depend on getting the facts right. At moments like this, restraint and sober judgment matter. People have a constitutional right to peacefully assemble and express their views, and to exercise their individual Second Amendment rights. Federal, state, and local law enforcement share a responsibility to work cooperatively to enforce the law, maintain public safety, and protect constitutional rights. Those principles should guide our response as the facts are established.”