A 37-year-old ICU nurse was shot and killed by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis on Saturday while recording federal immigration operations, prompting former President Bill Clinton to issue a stark warning about what he called “increasingly aggressive and antagonistic tactics” by immigration enforcement officials.
Alex Pretti was killed after agents opened fire during the incident.
Video footage shows Pretti appeared to be attempting to help a woman who had been knocked down by agents when he was sprayed with an irritant and pushed to the ground.
Agents then proceeded to beat Pretti before one agent was observed removing a firearm from his waistband.
Multiple agents subsequently fired several shots, killing him.
The fatal shooting marks the second immigration enforcement-related death in Minneapolis this month.
Earlier in January, another individual, Renee Nicole Good, was killed in an incident involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the same city.
Clinton released a statement Sunday addressing both deaths and what he characterized as a broader pattern of conduct by federal immigration authorities.
“In recent weeks, we’ve watched horrible scenes play out in Minneapolis and other communities that I never thought would take place in America. People, including children, have been seized from their homes, workplaces, and the street by masked federal agents,” Clinton stated.
The former president continued his criticism, noting that citizens attempting to observe law enforcement activities have faced severe consequences.
“Peaceful protesters and citizens exercising their constitutional right to observe and document law enforcement have been arrested, beaten, teargassed, and most searingly, in the cases of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, shot and killed,” he said.
Clinton characterized the situation as unacceptable and preventable. He directed additional criticism at officials’ public statements regarding the incidents.
“To make matters even worse, at every turn, the people in charge have lied to us, told us not to believe what we’ve seen with our own eyes, and pushed increasingly aggressive and antagonistic tactics, including impeding investigations by local authorities,” Clinton stated.
The former president specifically accused the Trump administration of instructing Americans to disregard their own observations of events.
Saturday’s shooting occurred as Pretti was documenting federal immigration operations with his recording device. The sequence of events captured shows the escalation from the application of chemical irritants through physical force and ultimately lethal force.
Clinton framed the current situation as a pivotal moment for the nation. “Over the course of a lifetime, we face only a few moments where the decisions we make and the actions we take will shape our history for years to come,” he stated.
“This is one of them. If we give our freedoms away after 250 years, we might never get them back. It is up to all of us who believe in the promise of American democracy to stand up, speak out, and show that our nation still belongs to We the People,” the former president concluded.
Former President Barack Obama also issued a scathing rebuke of the Trump administration Sunday, marking a rare political intervention by the 44th president.
Obama released the statement through his X account, jointly with former first lady Michelle Obama, condemning what he characterized as “embarrassing, lawless and cruel tactics” employed by federal immigration enforcement officers.
“The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy,” Obama wrote. “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.”
