NEW YORK, USA — Whoopi Goldberg criticised federal immigration authorities and senior government officials during an emotional segment on the television programme The View on Monday, January 26, 2026, following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis.
Speaking during the live broadcast, Goldberg became visibly distressed as she discussed the death of Mr. Pretti, an intensive care nurse who worked at a Veterans Affairs hospital.
“They murdered a man. He is standing, he has his phone and he has a bottle of water. And they shot him ten times. What the —,” she said, before stopping herself.
“I don’t know what you’re investigating, if you’re not investigating the straight up murder — the straight up murder. This is the second one, the second murder of an American citizen.”
She continued: “If you don’t see it, it’s willful. It’s because you’re not looking. You can’t sit by this.”
Criticism of Federal Officials
During the broadcast, Goldberg directly addressed Kristi Noem, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and Greg Bovino, a Border Patrol commander.
“Kristi Noem, you can’t justify this. Mr. Bovino, you can’t justify this,” she said. “You can’t justify either one, and we all see it and we see you for what you are. You all have blood on your hands.”
Mr. Pretti’s death occurred weeks after Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother, was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer while driving away from a protest.
The two incidents have drawn renewed scrutiny of federal immigration enforcement operations and their use of force.
Co-Hosts Question Official Accounts
Other co-hosts of The View also criticised the government’s handling of the shooting.
Ana Navarro said that Mr. Pretti appeared to be filming officers before he was shot.
“Pretti was ‘brandishing a camera,’” she said. “This government does something that I am not used to saying about a U.S. government. It lies to the citizens, it lies to the people. So, for them, a camera is just as dangerous as a gun. What they don’t want is for people to see the truth.”
Sara Haines also addressed the issue, linking the shooting to broader concerns about federal immigration enforcement.
“The people that seem to be bringing the violence are the ICE agents themselves,” she said. “I know there are good ICE agents. The problem is they’re currently recruiting people using imagery from single-shooter games, giving them this vibe that they’re coming to get rid of vermin, and they’re also telling them they have immunity.”
She added: “They’re not even getting investigated properly. The administration has spoken and set the tone for this. That’s what we’re seeing right now. That’s why people are being killed completely unjustly.”
Public Reaction and Ongoing Scrutiny
The segment aired amid continuing public debate over the killing of Mr. Pretti and the federal government’s response. Videos circulating online have prompted questions about official accounts of the incident and calls for independent investigations.
Neither the Department of Homeland Security nor Border Patrol officials responded immediately to requests for comment on the remarks made during the programme.
The episode reflected growing criticism from public figures and media personalities over immigration enforcement practices, particularly following the recent deaths linked to federal agents in Minnesota.
