Thousands of Chicagoans marched across the city this past weekend, after federal agents in Minneapolis fatally shot 37-year-old Alex Pretti. Pretti was an intensive care unit (ICU) nurse at the veterans hospital in Minneapolis.
A growing memorial to Pretti now stands outside the Jesse Brown VA in Chicago. Flowers, candles, and messages surround a photograph of Pretti in blue hospital scrubs, standing before an American flag.
At the weekend’s marches, State Sen. Graciela Guzmán spoke about the health impacts of federal agents’ ongoing operations. She urged people to remember those who have died from agents’ violence in detention facilities and in cities.
Many Chicagoans are still reeling from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations here in the fall. The agents’ activities kept people hiding at home and missing medical appointments, while landing others in the hospital. At rallies, people decried the agents’ tactics, which include using pepper spray and tear gas in residential areas. Many said the operations are taking a mental health toll, and half of those surveyed in a recent CNN poll say Immigration and Customs Enforcement is making their communities feel less safe, not more.
Pretti himself had a Chicago connection. He was born at Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, and his family lived in the Chicago suburbs before moving to Green Bay, Wisconsin.
“Alex was 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,” Pretti’s parents, Michael and Susan Pretti, said in a statement. “I do not throw around the hero term lightly. However his last thought and act was to protect a woman,” the statement continues, referring to video footage that shows Pretti holding a cell phone and trying to lift a woman whom an agent had pushed to the ground.
An award-winning journalist, Katie has written for Chicago Health since 2016 and currently serves as Editor-in-Chief.
