Local nurses and military veterans assembled outside the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center in Chicago on Tuesday to honor Alex Pretti, a nurse who was killed by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis. The group placed white roses at a memorial for Pretti before marching around the hospital with signs and chants calling for the abolition of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Pretti, 37, worked as an intensive care nurse at a Minneapolis Veterans Affairs hospital. Video footage reportedly shows him attempting to assist a civilian before seven agents restrained him and shot him multiple times.
Scott Mechanic, an intensive care unit nurse in Chicago, addressed the crowd: “I can’t help but see myself in Alex Pretti. This is a call to every health care worker, to every union member, to every American, to continue these acts of bravery, to confront ICE, to confront Border Patrol, wherever they show up.”
Pretti’s death has led to widespread condemnation of federal immigration enforcement operations. Thousands attended a protest downtown on Sunday denouncing his killing, and another vigil is planned for Wednesday night.
There are reports that the Trump administration plans to remove Greg Bovino from his post in Minneapolis following controversy over his actions as Border Patrol commander. A federal judge previously found Bovino had lied about prior operations in Chicago. Bovino claimed without evidence that Pretti intended to “massacre” agents.
Video evidence indicates that Pretti was disarmed of a legally carried concealed pistol just before he was shot by agents. President Trump has tried to distance himself from earlier statements about Pretti; a White House official had called Pretti a “domestic terrorist.” Some Republican officials have also criticized recent immigration crackdowns as public approval ratings for Trump’s immigration policies decline.
Mechanic told those gathered: “It feels like the tide may be turning and we may be winning. Now that Americans can see the violence.”
Pretti belonged to the American Federation of Government Employees union, which prompted members from local branches as well as SEIU Healthcare, National Nurses United, the Chicago Teachers Union and other labor organizations to join Tuesday’s vigil.
Bob Reiter, president of the Chicago Federation of Labor said: “I think that America was struck by the gravity of what happened on that street this last Saturday in a way that felt different. But let me tell you, this should not have caught anyone by surprise.”
A video circulated widely online shows Pretti giving a veteran his final salute after dying inside his workplace at the Veterans Affairs hospital. His parents described him as “a good man” who “cared deeply for his family and friends and also the American veterans [for] whom he cared.” According to Associated Press reports, Pretti participated in protests following an ICE agent’s killing of Renee Good on January 7.
Andrew Wilbur, resident physician at Northwestern Memorial Hospital said: “This hits so close to home because we work with people like Alex in the hospital every single day. To see somebody who cares so deeply about our veterans—who shares the same values of putting patients first only to be killed for fulfilling his commitment to his community—is devastating.”
Daniel Lackemacher, U.S. Navy veteran added: The federal government is “engaged in warfare against their own people.” He continued: Pretti “was taking care of us,” adding: “We are under attack.”
