The Trump administration is touting immigration victories as ICE amasses controversy over its operations in Minnesota. Some Republicans, however, are warning that the Trump administration’s dispatch of ICE could come back to haunt the GOP in the 2026 election.
State Senator Ileana Garcia (R-FL), who co-founded Latinas for Trump, has suggested that the Republican Party could lose in 2026 if the Trump administration does not change course.
Over the weekend, Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old I.C.U. nurse, was shot and killed during a scuffle with Border Patrol agents, further dividing the country. Pretti’s shooting comes after Rene Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother of three and community volunteer, was shot and killed earlier this month.
Speaking on the Pretti shooting, state Senator Garcia said that “it’s gone too far,” adding that “what happened Saturday was abhorrent.”
The state senator has also been involved in an online verbal brawl with both Katie Miller, a conservative political adviser, and Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security advisor for President Donald Trump.
State Senator Garcia, is not a fan of Miller, stating that she has not been since President Trump’s first administration, and she believes that “[President Trump] will lose the midterms because of Stephen Miller.”
On social media, she has refuted Miller’s claims that Pretti was “a would-be assassin.” Instead, she argues that Pretti “was a US citizen,” who “did not draw the weapon” and “did not attack the agent.”
She previously served as the first Hispanic Female Deputy Press Secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, and she was the Trump campaign’s communications director for Latino outreach.
Katie Miller, who is Stephen Miller’s wife, has responded to the Florida state senator’s  comments on social media, claiming that “Ileana was fired from DHS in Trump’s first term because she failed to show up to work.”
State Senator Garcia responded to Miller's claim on X, suggesting that the two should discuss issues on The Katie Miller Podcast.
"@KatieMiller Invite me to your podcast so we can have a candid discussion about what truly transpired and how you labeled your then-boyfriend a racist when you were upset that he treated you poorly and me as a mere token Hispanic for the administration," the Florida Republican countered on social media.
Miller has not yet provided a response.
