Governor Josh Shapiro (D-PA) claimed on Tuesday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had no legitimate “mission” when going into cities like Minneapolis, saying that he believed their only mission was “to violate people’s constitutional rights.”
Shapiro, who was a contender to be former Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate in 2024 and is considered to be in the running for the 2028 Democratic nomination, discussed the situation during a conversation on ABC’s “The View.” He argued, among other things, that it was time for ICE’s “mission” to end — and said that he’d have no problem thwarting federal law enforcement if such operations targeted his state.
WATCH:
Shapiro says he’s ready to stop ICE from enforcing immigration law in Pennsylvania. pic.twitter.com/hoXXZ2C0KB
— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) January 27, 2026
Co-host Ana Navarro raised the question of Minneapolis, referring first to the deadly confrontation between Border Patrol agents and Alex Pretti, and asking Shapiro to weigh in on the still-unfolding scene.
“Well, it’s obviously extremely disturbing,” Shapiro said of Pretti’s death. “To me, it is very clear that the mission the president and Kristi Noem and Stephen Miller and JD Vance and all of them sent these federal officials on is a mission to violate people’s constitutional rights, and it is clear that the mission needs to be terminated immediately, period, hard stop.”
Co-host Sara Haines took the next question, noting that Philadelphia could be a potential target for a similar surge of federal immigration enforcement resources and personnel, and she asked how Shapiro planned to respond if that were the case.
“What can you do if they bring this crackdown to your state next?” she asked.
Shapiro quickly made it clear that he had already considered that possibility — and was taking preemptive action to prepare ahead of time. “Look, Sara, we’ve been planning for this. We understand that this is a risk — maybe not just in Philly, but Pittsburgh, Lancaster, other communities across Pennsylvania; we’ve heard similar rumors. Wherever it comes, we’ll be prepared, we’ll be prepared in the community, we’ll be prepared in the court of law.”
“I’ll remind you, as a former attorney general, I know how to take this president to court and win,” he declared, going on to boast, “And even as governor, I’ve taken him to court 19 times in his first 12 months in office. We’ve won every single time on behalf of the good people of Pennsylvania.”
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