The fatal shooting of Veterans Affairs Nurse Alex Pretti on Jan. 24 by a federal agent has sparked outrage from many Americans, even while Trump administration officials have attempted to claim the deadly use of force was justified — a claim contradicted by video evidence.
In Oakland and the East Bay, the reaction from elected officials and other community leaders has centered on outrage and opposition to the continuing mass deportation operation that set the stage for Pretti’s killing.
Two other American citizens were killed in the weeks before Pretti. Renee Good was shot by a Customs and Border Protection agent on Jan. 7, and Keith Porter was shot by an off-duty ICE agent on New Year’s Eve in Los Angeles. The latest protests follow a wave of other protests that took place earlier this month after Good’s killing.
Two other people were killed by federal immigration agents since last September: Silverio Villegas González, a father originally from Mexico and working as a cook in Chicago who was shot, reportedly while trying to flee, and Sanchez Barboza, a Mexican citizen killed in Rio Grande City, Texas, while agents were detaining him.
“Today’s fatal shooting by federal agents in Minneapolis — the third such incident in recent weeks — is a direct result of enforcement operations that treat American communities as combat zones,” Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee said Saturday, shortly after Pretti was killed. “These operations have resulted in senseless deaths and created an atmosphere of terror rather than safety — and we must condemn them unequivocally.”
On social media, Alameda County Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas called ICE and CBP’s operations “lawless violence,” and “sickening.”
“These agencies must be held accountable and they must leave the Twin Cities and all of our communities immediately,” she wrote. Bas also called on Alameda County residents to support county plans to create “ICE-free zones” and a county response plan in case agents conduct similar operations here.
Congresswoman Lateefah Simon issued a statement hours after Pretti was killed, saying she supports Senate Democrats who are planning to vote against a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security. She previously voted against the bill when it was before the House.
“ICE is killing American citizens,” said Simon. “Trump and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem have enabled a system of abuse of government power, militarism, and unchecked state violence where communities are treated as disposable.”
Simon was in Minneapolis earlier this month for a hearing titled “Kidnapped and Disappeared: Trump’s Deadly Assault on Minnesota,” to hear from residents about the impacts ICE and CBP operations have had on local communities.
The day before Pretti was killed, an estimated 1,500 people rallied in Fruitvale with the message “ICE out of everywhere,” according to KTVU. Unions including UNITE HERE Local 2, UAW 4811, UAW 2320, the California Nurses Association, UC American Federation of Teachers 1474, Oakland Education Association, the Committee of Interns and Residents – SEIU, and the Alameda Labor Council endorsed the rally.
“The teachers of Oakland stand in unequivocal solidarity with the people of Minnesota as they fight back against ICE agents terrorizing their communities,” said Oakland Education Association member Jessica Papalia. “Teachers will not stand by while our students’ lives are threatened and their right to an education is ignored.”
The National Nurses Union called for a week of action in honor of Pretti, who worked as an ICU nurse in Minneapolis’s VA hospital. “ICE messed with the wrong profession,” the union wrote in a statement. “We nurses will fight to abolish ICE and bring about a vision for a healthy society based on nurses’ values of caring, compassion, and community.” One of the nurses’ protests was at Oakland’s Kaiser Medical Center on Monday.
On Sunday, a rally also took place at Frank Ogawa Plaza.
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