AAUP President on the Killing of Alex Pretti: “This Moment Demands A Powerful Response from the Labor Movement”

AAUP President Todd Wolfson issued the following statement in response to the shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday, January 24.

Today we mourn the tragic loss of Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System who was known for his compassion, dedication to veterans, and deep commitment to his community. Alex devoted his life to healing others and to standing up for justice and human dignity; his apparent murder in Minneapolis at the hands of federal immigration enforcement agents is a devastating loss for his family, friends, coworkers, and the broader community. The aggressive and militarized actions of ICE and border patrol agents in Minnesota-which have now resulted in multiple fatal shootings-are unconscionable, and we unequivocally condemn the role these agencies have played in this tragedy.

This moment demands a unified, bold, and powerful response from the labor movement. We are uniting across sectors to organize, mobilize, and wield our full collective power to confront ICE, and demand the following:

• ICE must leave Minnesota now and withdraw from American cities where its presence is escalating violence and tearing communities apart.
• The agents who killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti must be investigated and held legally accountable.
• Congress must use its power to hold ICE accountable, and allow no additional federal funding for ICE in the upcoming Congressional budget. ICE must be investigated for human and constitutional violations of Americans and our neighbors.
• Minnesotan and national companies should cease economic relations with ICE and refuse ICE entry or using their property for staging grounds.