Remembering Alex Pretti — ICU Nurse, Advocate, and American Citizen. We Call for Justice and Respect for Essential Workers
- Virginia LULAC
- Jan 26
- 4 min read
January 26, 2026
Virginia LULAC unequivocally condemns the killing of Alex Pretti and Rene Good. We mourn their deaths and demand accountability for the circumstances that took their lives. These were not random individuals — they were defenders of human dignity and advocates for immigrant rights on American soil. Their deaths are unacceptable.
According to family and independent reporting, Alex Jeffrey Pretti, age 37, was an intensive care nurse at the Veterans Affairs Medical ICU in Minneapolis who cared deeply about people and the well-being of his community. His family described him as compassionate, warmhearted, and committed to service — both as a nurse saving lives and as a citizen speaking out against what he believed were injustices in his city and across the nation. At the time of his death, Alex had participated in protests following the killing of Rene Good by a federal immigration officer earlier this year, because he believed the government’s immigration enforcement tactics were morally wrong and harmful to families and communities. Pretti had no criminal record beyond minor traffic violations and was known as a lawful, responsible individual deeply committed to helping others.
Alex Pretti’s own family spoke of how distressed he was by the situation in Minneapolis and throughout the United States, stating he “cared about people deeply” and felt compelled to act on his conscience. He exercised his constitutional rights peacefully and lawfully. His family further noted that in videos from the incident he was seen holding a phone and attempting to shield a woman from force — not brandishing a weapon — contradicting initial federal claims. (Biesecker et al., The man killed by a US border patrol officer in Minneapolis was an ICU nurse, family says 2026, Associated Press News)
Alex was an ICU nurse — and amid a national nursing shortage and growing attacks on the nursing profession — his killing is not just unjust; it is an affront to those who serve on the front lines of our health care system. Nurses are essential workers, the backbone of care for the vulnerable and the sick, and first responders in moments of critical need. Alex embodied the resilience, common decency, and selfless dedication that define so many who choose this profession. He cared for veterans and families when they were most in need. To attack someone who devoted his life to preserving life is unconscionable.
The recent reclassification of nursing as a “non-professional” degree by this administration — coupled with indifference toward our nursing workforce — strikes at the very foundation of our basic needs as Americans. If we strip away respect for those who protect and sustain life, how can we claim to be a nation that honors its people? Our country is great because of people like Alex, who risked so much to serve others. (Cliburn, Proposed reclassification of nursing degree could have dire consequences: Insight Into Academia 2026, Insight into Academia publication)
Alex’s death, and the death of Renee Good — another lawful advocate — are not tragedies we should accept as unavoidable. They are proof that something has gone dangerously wrong in how some government forces treat peaceful protest and dissent. In the United States of America, it is a right; not a favor, not a courtesy, and not a risk to protest injustice, to speak out, and to demand accountability. When peaceful dissent is met with lethal force, we must ask what distinguishes us from authoritarian regimes such as Venezuela or North Korea. A nation that punishes lawful protest with death abandons its democratic values.
Virginia LULAC honors Alex Pretti and Renee Good as patriots, defenders of freedom and our rights to free speech and assembly; Americans who used their voices for the voiceless. They stood peacefully, legally, and courageously for the rights of immigrant communities and Latinos — communities central to the American identity. Their activism was lawful. Their intent was honorable. Their actions were protected by the Constitution.
Yet they were met with force that was deadly, unjustified, and unacceptable. We call for immediate independent investigations into the deaths of Alex Pretti and Rene Good. We demand that the agents responsible be held fully accountable under the law. There must be no cover-ups, no excuses, no delays — justice must be swift and transparent.
Call to Action:
We hold firm to our support for law enforcement that protects and serves with honor. But support for law enforcement does not mean silence when power is abused. The actions of individual agents reflect the priorities and accountability of the leadership above them — and these deaths point to serious failures at the highest levels.
Furthermore, Virginia LULAC demands that Congress and the Justice Department launch a full, public investigation into the policies and practices of the Department of Homeland Security and its current leadership. If such an investigation uncovers abuse of authority, unlawful directives, or violations of constitutional rights, we call for the resignation and legal accountability of those responsible if evidence supports it.
We assert this plainly:
The right to peaceful protest is not negotiable.
The right to free speech is not optional.
The right to life is non-negotiable.
When these rights are threatened, America itself is threatened. Virginia LULAC will not stand silently while peaceful advocates are killed. We will raise our voices, we will seek justice, and we will fight until accountability is real and systemic change is undeniable.
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About Virginia LULAC
Virginia LULAC is the state chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the nation’s oldest and largest Latino civil rights advocacy organization. Our mission is to advance the economic condition, educational attainment, political influence, health, housing, and civil rights of Hispanic Americans in the Commonwealth of Virginia and beyond.
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