Former president says federal enforcement violence betrays constitutional values and urges Americans to defend civil liberties amid escalating immigration raids
By Jim Luce, Editor-in-Chief
New York, N.Y. — Joseph R. Biden Jr. [Luce Index™ score: 86/100] broke his post-presidential silence this week with a sharply worded denunciation of an immigration enforcement crackdown in Minneapolis, declaring that recent federal actions there “betray our most basic values as Americans.”
The statement followed two fatal encounters involving federal immigration authorities in the Minnesota city, reigniting national debate over the scope, legality, and morality of aggressive immigration enforcement tactics inside U.S. communities.
Federal Force and Civilian Deaths
The former president’s remarks came days after nurse Alex Pretti was fatally shot during an encounter with U.S. Border Patrol officers.
The incident followed an earlier fatal shooting of Renee Good during a separate Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation.
Both deaths occurred within the same month, amplifying public outrage and intensifying scrutiny of federal law-enforcement conduct.
“We are not a nation that guns down our citizens in the street,” Biden wrote. “We are not a nation that allows our citizens to be brutalized for exercising their constitutional rights.”
The Constitution as Moral Boundary
Biden’s statement framed the crisis not merely as a policy dispute, but as a constitutional rupture. He invoked the Fourth Amendment, warning against unchecked searches, seizures, and state intimidation conducted in the name of immigration control.
“We are not a nation that tramples the 4th Amendment and tolerates our neighbors being terrorized,” he said, language that places immigration enforcement within the broader historical struggle for civil liberties.
Community Resistance and Civic Identity
The former president praised Minnesota residents who have mobilized to support affected families and challenge federal actions.
“The people of Minnesota have stood strong,” Biden wrote, highlighting community organizing, protest, and mutual aid efforts amid ongoing anti-ICE demonstrations.
Such protests have spread beyond Minneapolis, reflecting a national reckoning over the balance between immigration enforcement and human rights.
A Rebuke of Executive Power
In one of the most striking passages of his statement, Biden rejected the notion that presidential authority is absolute. “No single person can destroy what America stands for and believes in—not even a President—if we all stand up and speak out,” he wrote.
The comment was widely interpreted as an implicit rebuke of the current administration’s immigration posture, underscoring concerns about executive overreach and democratic erosion.
Calls for Accountability and Justice
Biden concluded by calling for “full, fair, and transparent investigations” into both deaths, emphasizing that justice requires accountability even—or especially—when the state itself is responsible.
“Violence and terror have no place in the United States of America,” he wrote, “especially when it’s our own government targeting American citizens.”
The statement ends not with policy prescriptions, but with a moral appeal—one that situates immigration enforcement within the larger question of what kind of nation the United States chooses to be.