Josh Shapiro is increasingly critical of ICE in Minneapolis. Some point out he still cooperates with the agency.

WASHINGTON — In a string of public appearances since federal agents fatally shot Alex Pretti, Gov. Josh Shapiro has repeatedly decried the federal immigration operation in Minnesota as unconstitutional and called on President Donald Trump to “terminate the mission.”

The centrist Democratic governor leaned heavily into criticism of the Trump administration as he toured the East Coast — and network and cable news shows — to promote his new memoir, Where We Keep The Light, last week.

“I believe this administration in Washington is using [government] for pure evil in Minnesota right now,” Shapiro, who is widely believed to be setting up a presidential run, told Late Show host Stephen Colbert last week. “And it should not be hard to say that.”

Known to be a careful messenger, Shapiro’s approach to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol operations in Minneapolis evolved over the last week, from his initial decision over the first year of Trump’s second presidency not to aggressively speak out against ICE’s enforcement tactics to a hard-line approach condemning the Trump administration’s mission following the killing of another U.S. citizen by federal agents that became national tipping point.

When ICE agents killed Renee Good in early January, Shapiro issued a statement mourning her death, but made no broader conclusions about ICE and did not mention her by name.

Now, he has honed a clear and authoritative message that the Trump administration’s strategies are eroding trust in law enforcement, violating constitutional rights and making communities less safe. If Trump moves his focus and forces to Pennsylvania, he says, state officials are prepared to push back.

According to polling obtained by Puck News, Shapiro has landed on some of the most effective messaging on immigration in the country.

But immigrant rights groups in Pennsylvania say the governor took too long to speak up and has yet to back his rhetoric up with concrete actions in his home state by ending cooperation with ICE.

“Because it is the topic of the day, he’s getting these pointed questions, and his answer to that is to point to what they’re doing wrong in Minnesota. Meanwhile, he’s over here telling us that he’s not going to stop collaborating with ICE,” said Tammy Murphy, advocacy manager at immigrant rights group Make the Road Pennsylvania. “It’s easy for him to point the finger to somebody else, but then what is he doing at home?”

At a roundtable with journalists in Washington on Thursday, Shapiro said he didn’t view his new outspokenness against ICE’s operations in Minneapolis as a tone shift, but acknowledged that the situation had become more serious in recent days and he “reached a point where it was critically important” to comment on the situation in Minnesota and tell Pennsylvanians his views.

“I think I’ve been in the same place on this to protect our immigrant communities and also make sure that Pennsylvania is safe,” Shapiro said.

“Both [Good and Pretti’s deaths] told me the same story that you had people who were not following proper policing tactics. People who were in the field who seemingly, and it became more clear to me over the last week or two, did not have a clear mission and that the directive that they had clearly was not within the bounds of the constitution.”

Shapiro has called for residents to continue peacefully protesting ICE activity. Speaking to Sen. Raphael Warnock (D., Ga.) in a book tour stop in Washington on Thursday evening, Shapiro noted that those protests had led to the votes against DHS funding Warnock was preparing to take that week.

“That’s people power right now, and this is a moment where we need to raise our voices,” Shapiro said. (His event was then promptly, but briefly, interrupted by climate protesters)

That same night Shapiro’s likely Republican opponent, State Treasurer Stacy Garrity, told The Inquirer that Minnesotans need to “cooperate” with ICE and that Pennsylvania officials should, too.

“It’s always good to cooperate with ICE, especially when they’re doing targeted actions,” Garrity said.

Samuel Chen, a GOP strategist, said Shapiro’s harsh rhetoric would create a clear distinction between him and Garrity while “endearing him to the Democrats should he run in 2028.”

Chen noted that even some Republicans have criticized Trump’s approach to Minnesota, which creates an opportunity for Shapiro to speak out.

“With that being public opinion the governor has a lot of cover to come out even harder,” Chen said. “It’s a win, win, win for him.”

Even as he makes the case against ICE’s recent actions, Shapiro is still being careful not to go too far. He frequently mentions that Pennsylvania is not a sanctuary state. In an interview with Fox News last week, he criticized Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s comments comparing ICE agents to Nazis as unacceptable rhetoric.

“It is abhorrent and it is wrong, period, hard stop, end of sentence,” Shapiro said.

What is most frustrating to immigrant rights groups is the Shapiro administration’s willingness to cooperate with ICE — even if on a limited basis — while other Democratic governors have taken strong actions against it. Gov. Maura Healy of Massachusetts, for example, banned ICE from state facilities.

Meanwhile, Shapiro’s administration honors some ICE detainers in state prisons and provides ICE with access to state databases that include personal identifying information for immigrants.

“You are still collaborating with the agency that is murdering our people, that you yourself have named as violating the constitution,” said Jasmine Rivera, the executive director of the Pennsylvania Immigration Coalition.

When Parady La, an Upper Darby resident and Cambodian immigrant died of a drug withdrawal in ICE custody last month, they note, Shapiro said nothing.

“You know, Parady La’s death was also bad,” said Murphy, who is with Make The Road. “That happened in this state at the hands of federal agents. And he’s silent about that, but then he’s got something to say about Renee Good or Alex Pretti. He’s talking about those people, but not the people here.”

The Shapiro administration says that outside agencies do not have “unfettered access” to state databases but may offer access to federal agents for “legitimate investigations that involve foreign nationals who have committed crimes.”

Furthermore, they say ICE detainers are honored only when a detainee has been convicted of a crime and sentenced to state prison.

In a letter to advocates last month, the administration vowed not to lease state property to ICE and reiterated that State Police are barred from conducting administration enforcement and that federal agencies must obtain a warrant to access non-public space in state buildings.

This cautious approach is part of a balancing act Shapiro must handle as he pursues reelection in a politically split state and weighs a potential run for higher office, said Alison Dagnes, a political science professor at Shippensburg University.

“He is spinning plates and juggling flaming torches, all while he’s playing the kazoo,” Dagnes added “That combination is really important to consider as we look at his shifting rhetoric, his carefulness that moved into a louder stance.”

But advocates want Shapiro to take a firmer stance and say they won’t stop pushing until he does.

“Politically, he wants to be seen as ‘both sides,’” Murphy said. “He doesn’t want to be seen challenging Trump or this deportation machine.”