THE US nurses union denounced the killing of its member, Alex Pretti, by armed ICE agents in Minnesota on Saturday as ‘a heinous murder’ and demanded: ‘Abolish ICE!’
‘Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse, was doing what nurses do best – taking action to protect his community – when he was killed by federal agents,’ the union said on X.
Alex Pretti’s family, including his parents Michael and Susan, released a statement saying they’re ‘heartbroken but also very angry’ after he was killed, describing their son as a kindhearted soul who wanted to make a difference in the world through his work as a nurse.
‘The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting,’ it said.
‘I do not throw around the “hero” term lightly. However his last thought and act was to protect a woman.’
The statement continued: ‘Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump’s murdering and cowardly ICE thugs. He has his phone in his right hand and his empty left hand is raised above his head while trying to protect the woman ICE just pushed down all while being pepper sprayed.
‘Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man.’
His father, Michael Pretti, said his son ‘was very upset with what was happening in Minneapolis and throughout the United States’.
‘He thought it was terrible, you know, kidnapping children, just grabbing people off the street. He cared about those people, and he knew it was wrong, so he did participate in protests.’
Pretti studied at the University of Minnesota, graduating in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in biology, society and the environment.
Amy Fischer, Amnesty International US’s Director for Refugee and Migrant Rights, has called on Congress to reject further funding for ICE in the wake of Pretti’s killing.
Calling for accountability, Fischer said the shooting was not an isolated incident and accused ICE of using ‘paramilitary-style operations’ with ‘little oversight or accountability’.
‘From deadly street operations to the torture, neglect and other abuses documented in immigrant detention facilities, ICE has repeatedly violated human rights while facing virtually no consequences,’ Fischer said in a statement.
The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Executive Director Jaylani Hussein said: ‘When lethal force is used again and again in our neighbourhoods, the investigation cannot be left solely to the same federal system that carried out the operation.
‘Minnesota families deserve a process that is local, independent, civilian-led, and fully transparent.’
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