Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, appeared on CNN‘s “State of the Union” and questioned the Trump administration’s immigration policies, saying the president is “getting bad advice.” Stitt told Dana Bash he thinks there’s “broad agreement” that President Trump should “close the border” and get “violent criminals” out of the country. “Americans are asking themselves, ‘What is the endgame? What is the solution?’ And we believe in federalism and state rights. And nobody likes feds coming into their state,” the Republican governor said. “And so, what’s the goal right now? Is it to deport every single non-U.S. citizen? I don’t think that’s what Americans want. We have to stop politicizing this. We need real solutions on immigration reform,” he continued. “I believe that I’ve got a great solution that we should give the states the authority to do workforce permits,” he added. Bash asked Stitt if he thinks federal immigration agents should “pull out of Minnesota.” “I think that the president has to answer that question. He is a dealmaker, and he’s getting bad advice right now,” he answered. Footage below: Oklahoma GOP Governor Kevin Stitt criticizes ICE: “What is the endgame? What’s the goal right now? Is it to deport every single non-US citizen? I don’t think that’s what Americans want.” pic.twitter.com/O65NMlqLDb — TheBlaze (@theblaze) January 25, 2026 The Hill has more: Saturday’s shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti by a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agent came less than three weeks after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer fatally shot 37-year-old Renee Good, also a U.S. citizen. The incidents sparked widespread demonstrations against the administration’s deployment of CBP and ICE personnel to Democratic-run cities nationwide, along with calls from Democratic lawmakers to rein in those agencies. While the Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday that more than 675,000 people have been deported and roughly 2.2 million people have left the country voluntarily since President Trump returned to office, Stitt wants “real solutions” on reforming the immigration system. One idea he referenced is allowing states to issue workforce permits, an authority that lies solely with the federal government. Stitt, the chair of the National Governors Association (NGA), also proposed charging employers $5,000 if they hire noncitizens, a sum that can help “pay down the national debt and to incentivize them to hire Americans.” “If you’re going to have an employer-employee relationship, we should be fixing that, instead of politicizing this,” the Oklahoma Republican said. “And right now, tempers are just going crazy, and we need to calm this down.” “Just remember that @KevinStitt was trying to allow illegal aliens to obtain driver’s licenses and create pathways for them to obtain work permits in his state, and only stopped after facing huge backlash against the proposal,” the Project for Immigration Reform said in response to Stitt’s comments. Just remember that @KevinStitt was trying to allow illegal aliens to obtain driver’s licenses and create pathways for them to obtain work permits in his state, and only stopped after facing huge backlash against the proposal. https://t.co/PoCSoOyAE5 pic.twitter.com/0PLZmHlxSe — Project for Immigration Reform (@PFIRorg) January 25, 2026 Other Republicans voiced concerns and criticisms after the Minnesota shooting over the weekend. BREAKING: Armed Man Sh*t & K*lled By CBP Agent in Minneapolis The Associated Press explained: Vermont Gov. Phil Scott said the shooting was “not acceptable.” “At best, these federal immigration operations are a complete failure of coordination of acceptable public safety and law enforcement practices, training and leadership,” he said in a post. “At worst, it’s deliberate federal intimidation and incitement of American citizens.” Echoing criticism that local law enforcement isn’t cooperating with federal officials, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., suggested the administration focus its immigration efforts elsewhere. “If I were President Trump, I would almost think about if the mayor and the governor are going to put our ICE officials in harm’s way and there’s a chance of losing more innocent lives or whatever, then maybe go to another city and let the people of Minneapolis decide do we want to continue to have all these illegals?” he told “Sunday Morning Futures” on the Fox News Channel. “I think the people of Minnesota would rebel against their leadership.”