UAW 4811 Statement on Killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis

UAW 4811 researchers and educators mourn the tragic killing of Alex Pretti, a 37 year-old nurse shot dead Saturday in Minneapolis by ICE agents. Alex was a union member with the American Federation of Government Employees, a former researcher, and an ICU nurse for the Veterans Health Administration. In all of these roles, Alex served the public good and it was that commitment to his community that led Alex to join peaceful protests against ICE overreach and violence in Minneapolis. As he tried to help two fellow protestors, a gang of masked ICE agents pepper-sprayed him, tackled him to the ground, and shot him at least 10 times. 

This horrific act of violence is not an isolated incident, but the inevitable consequence of the Trump administration’s reckless, violent, and unlawful immigration policy. Over the past year, the DHS and ICE have engaged in a nationwide campaign of terror at the direction of Donald Trump and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, kidnapping working people, tearing families apart, and now murdering protestors who stand up against this injustice. This weekend it was Minneapolis, but so long as federal immigration enforcement continues along this path, any city in America may become the site of the next tragedy. 

UAW 4811 reiterates its demand for an end to the Trump administration’s attacks on immigrants and for dismantling ICE. Furthermore, UAW 4811 calls on the entire California congressional delegation to vote no on any further appropriations for DHS and to pass legislation to end ICE’s terror campaign, and encourages all workers, students and community members to take to the streets at an action near them on Friday, January 30th.

Alex Pretti dedicated his life to caring for others as a researcher, a nurse, and a union member. The members of UAW 4811 will honor his memory by doing everything in our power to defend the rights of all working people, including immigrants and international workers, from state violence and repression.