Former President Obama and Michelle Obama called on Americans to recognize the dangers of increasingly violent actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement following the fatal shooting of an ICU nurse in Minneapolis.
“The murder of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy,” the Obamas wrote in a lengthy statement posted on social media. “It should also be a wake-up call to all Americans, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under attack.”
Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse with the Department of Veterans Affairs, was seen using her cell phone to record ICE members deployed Saturday morning in a snowy Minneapolis neighborhood. Witness videos show federal immigration agents shoving a woman and Pretti coming to her aid. They then pushed him, sprayed him with a chemical spray and then threw him to the ground. They shot him 10 times.
Demonstrations occurred across the country on Sunday to protest the tactics of federal immigration agents and comments by President Trump and other members of his administration. Several administration officials appeared to blame Pretti for his death because he was carrying a gun during a protest.
Minneapolis police said Pretti had a license to carry a concealed weapon; Gun rights groups have denounced some rhetoric from the administration and called for a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding Pretti's death.
On Sunday, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara all but pleaded for calm for his city, which has seen the arrival of hundreds of ICE agents. O'Hara told CBS News that “this is not sustainable” and that his officers were stretched thin trying to contain “all this chaos.”
“This has to stop,” the Obamas wrote.
“Federal authorities and immigration agents have a tough job,” the Obamas wrote. “But Americans expect them to carry out their duties lawfully and responsibly, and to work with state and local officials, rather than against them, to ensure public safety.
“That's not what we're seeing in Minnesota. In fact, we're seeing the opposite,” the former first couple wrote.
On Sunday, protests escalated as people watched bystander cellphone videos of Pretti's shooting.
Pretti's parents, Susan and Michael Pretti, in a statement reported by the Associated Press, described their son as “a kind-hearted soul who cared deeply about his family and friends as well as the American veterans he cared for as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital.”
Her shooting comes less than three weeks after an ICE agent shot an unarmed mother, Renee Nicole Good, in another Minneapolis neighborhood. The agency said she was trying to harm an ICE agent, although video of the incident appears to show her turning the wheel of her truck away from the agent when he shot her in the face.
“For weeks, people across the country have been rightly outraged by the spectacle of masked ICE recruits and other federal agents acting with impunity and engaging in tactics that appear designed to intimidate, harass, provoke, and endanger the residents of a major American city,” the Obamas wrote, describing such methods as “unprecedented tactics.”
“The President and current administration officials appear eager to escalate the situation, while offering public explanations for the shootings of Mr. Pretti and Renee Good that are not supported by any serious investigation and that appear to be directly contradicted by video evidence,” the Obamas wrote.
They called on Trump administration officials to “reconsider their approach” and work constructively with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and other state and local authorities “to prevent further chaos and achieve legitimate law enforcement goals.”
“In the meantime, all Americans should support and be inspired by the wave of peaceful protests in Minneapolis and other parts of the country,” the Obamas wrote. “They are a timely reminder that it is ultimately up to each of us as citizens to speak out against injustice, protect our basic freedoms, and hold our government accountable.”
