Former President Obama and Michelle Obama called on Americans to recognize the dangers of the increasingly violent Immigration and Customs Enforcement crack-downs in the wake of the deadly shooting of an ICU nurse in Minneapolis.
“The killing 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 every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.”
Pretti, a 37-year-old Department of Veterans Affairs nurse, was seen using his cell phone to record ICE members deploying Saturday morning in a snowy Minneapolis neighborhood. Witness videos show ICE agents shoving a woman and Pretti coming to her assistance. He was then pushed and doused with a chemical spray, then tackled to the ground. He was shot 10 times.
On Sunday, demonstrations occurred across the country to protest the tactics of ICE agents and comments by President Trump and others in his administration. Several administration officials seemed to blame Pretti for his death because he was carrying a weapon during a protest.
Minneapolis police said Pretti had a license to carry a concealed weapon; gun rights groups have decried some administration rhetoric and called for a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding Pretti’s death.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara on Sunday almost begged for calm for his city that has witnessed hundreds of ICE agents moving in. O’Hara told CBS News “this is not sustainable,” and that his officers were stretched thin trying to contain “all of this chaos.”
“This has to stop,” the Obamas wrote.
“Federal law enforcement and immigration agents have a tough job,” the Obamas wrote. “But Americans expect them to carry out their duties in a lawful, accountable way, and to work with, rather than against, state and local officials 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 grew as people watched cell phone video captured by bystanders of Pretti’s shooting.
Pretti’s parents, Susan and Michael Pretti, in a statement reported by the Assoc. Press, described their son as “a kindhearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends and also the American veterans whom he cared for as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital.”
His 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 attempting to harm an ICE agent although video of the incident appears to show her turning the wheel of her SUV away from the agent when he shot her in the face.
“For weeks now, 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 seem 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 seem eager to escalate the situation, while offering public explanations for the shootings of Mr. Pretti and Renee Good that aren’t informed by any serious investigation – and that appear to be directly contradicted by video evidence,” the Obamas wrote.
“This has to stop,” 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 avert more chaos and achieve legitimate law enforcement goals.”
“In the meantime, every American should support and draw inspiration from the wave of peaceful protests in Minneapolis and other parts of the country,” the Obamas wrote. “They are a timely reminder that ultimately it’s up to each of us as citizens to speak out against injustice, protect our basic freedoms, and hold our government accountable.”