I’ve been sitting with grief and rage since the world learned about the killing of Alex Pretti — the 37-year-old intensive care nurse at the Minneapolis VA who was shot and killed by federal immigration enforcement agents during a protest. His family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors all remember him as a kind, warm-hearted soul who cared deeply about his patients, veterans, and the world around him. In his last moments, he wasn’t attacking anyone — he was recording what was happening and trying to protect someone else from harm.
As someone who is married to a nurse — a woman who ran into the worst of the worst, who has spent endless shifts checking vitals, calming families, and literally saving lives — this didn’t just hit home. It shook our home. Nurses are trained to assess danger and act with care, not aggression. They show up for the hurting and stay when most people would want to leave. That instinct doesn’t stop when a shift ends — you carry it in your bones. Watching what happened to Alex — a fellow caregiver, an experienced ICU nurse who spent his life saving others — it terrifies us in a way that feels all too real.
My wife has told me countless times: “I’ve seen the darkest moments of life — and still I show up the next day.” That’s bravery. That’s sacrifice. And that’s exactly who Alex was — someone who cared, who showed up, who didn’t hesitate to help another human being even when chaos was all around. And yet, he was killed in broad daylight by ICE/Bureau of Border Patrol forces — forces that operate with arms, shields, and deadly authority.
For so many of us, this isn’t just a news headline — it’s a warning. There are Americans right now who feel unsafe carrying their passports in public. There are Americans who fear being mistaken for something they’re not. And there are Americans who are outraged that a man who devoted his life to healing could be labeled anything other than a good person. I will not soften that truth. ICE — and all these federal forces that kill first and ask questions later — are murderers when they take one of their own without accountability. They’ve crossed a line that should tear at every American’s conscience.
We deserve the truth. We deserve justice. We owe it to Alex — and to every nurse, every veteran he cared for, and every person who believes in basic human dignity — to make sure this isn’t forgotten.
Rest in power, Alex. You didn’t just save lives — you lived in service of others until your last breath.
