Those who knew Alex Pretti praised him for his kindness, generosity and dedication to his community. Pretti was a 37-year-old U.S. citizen who worked as an ICU nurse at a Veterans Affairs Hospital and lived in Minneapolis. Many said his smile always lit up the room.
On Jan. 24, federal agents shot and killed Pretti.
Thousands of masked, armed officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other agencies have been present in Minnesota for weeks as part of the Trump administration’s “Operation Metro Surge.” Pretti is the second Minneapolis citizen these agents have killed in the past month. An ICE officer shot and killed Renee Nicole Good, also 37, on Jan. 7.
Trump’s immigration crackdown began last year, first in Los Angeles, then moving to Chicago. The Trump administration justifies federal deployments as necessary to remove illegal immigrants. They’ve also accused “violent mobs” of interfering with deportation and claimed to have a “zero tolerance policy for criminal behavior.”
Yet in this pursuit, ICE agents have violated basic rights by unlawfully arresting citizens, using detention centers improperly and acting with excessive force.
Think about how much damage the Trump administration has caused during this crackdown. At least 40 people have died since the start of these raids, either at the hands of federal agents or in custody at detention centers. According to the New York Times, the administration said “it would prioritize deporting the ‘worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens,’” yet the majority of those arrested have no criminal record. Agents are breaking down doors, making aggressive arrests and killing innocent civilians.
The Trump administration continues to advertise these acts as promoting public safety, but it’s unclear who they’re trying to protect.
Philosopher Thomas Aquinas wrote that the “laws (legalia) we call ‘just’ are those that affect and conserve happiness and its elements within the political community.” Based on this statement, we can conclude that the law should be ordered toward the common good.
But this system, this environment, this institution that the administration has created by deploying ICE, isn’t advancing the common good.
I don’t believe that working toward the common good involves arresting 5-year-olds. I don’t believe that working toward the common good leads public schools to cancel classes out of fear for children’s safety. I don’t believe that it causes civilians to miss doctors’ appointments because they are too afraid of being pulled over by a federal agent.
I don’t believe that the community of Minneapolis feels as if they are benefiting from this. They are protesting in the streets every day.
Pretti’s death isn’t an isolated incident. It speaks to Trump’s understanding of his job as president of the United States. It speaks to his understanding of the legal system he directs with disregard for public safety.
I don’t want a president who thinks it is appropriate to post vile and disgusting comments on social media about a man who was just killed. A man who had a sister and parents. A man who committed his life to taking care of others.
But actions speak louder than words. Last spring, Shane Harris, a Wake Forest alum who now writes for The Atlantic, spoke to my News Literacy class. He told us that the magazine no longer reports on what Trump says, but rather what he does.
What we need now is for Trump and border czar Tom Homan to act. To follow through on what they say about reducing the number of federal immigration enforcement officers in Minneapolis. What we need is for the administration to put its agenda aside and put the public first.
I texted my dad the other day and told him I just didn’t know what to do anymore. All of the violence and hate is too overwhelming, too paralyzing. But what I have to do, and what we all have to do, is not succumb to those feelings.
We have to act as well. We have to keep talking about what is going on, whether that be by writing articles for our school newspapers, reaching out to our senators or standing up in the streets for our neighbors and our democracy. Minnesota residents are already taking action by delivering groceries to immigrants and offering other sources of aid — all simple forms of activism that make big differences.
The law is not on the side of the common good anymore. We have to work for ourselves and our communities. When we become silent, we become complicit in our own demise.
I reiterate what Judge Fred Biery wrote in his order to release 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos from a detention facility:
In the early days of the nation, Elizabeth Willing Powell, one prominent Patriot socialite, asked Benjamin Franklin, “Well, Doctor, have we got a republic or a monarchy?”.
Franklin responded, “A republic, if you can keep it.”
Editor’s Note 2/7: The version of this article that is in the Old Gold & Black’s Feb. 5 print edition states that Pretti was unarmed. While Pretti was disarmed before ICE agents shot him, he was armed during the encounter. The online story has been updated for clarity.
