WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA) is heartbroken and outraged by the senseless and tragic murder of Alex Jeffery Pretti at the hands of federal immigration agents, just weeks after the murder of Renée Nicole Good and the mounting deaths of dozens of people in immigrant detention centers. NPNA joins its members and partners in Minnesota in demanding an immediate departure of all Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents from Minnesota and urging them to halt their reign of terror in the Twin Cities and beyond. 

In Minnesota and in communities across the nation, the people are mobilizing to hold ICE and CBP accountable through peaceful protests, documenting incidents, accompanying their neighbors, and offering mutual support. NPNA stands in solidarity with the families of the victims and the people of Minnesota, who exemplify courage and unity in the face of state-sanctioned violence.

Said Nicole Melaku, NPNA executive director, “We grieve for the families whose loved ones have been taken from them, and for the people of Minnesota, who are showing the rest of the nation the power of courage, unity, and peaceful assembly to protect their neighbors from a deadly, runaway secret police force. We echo the calls of our Minnesotan siblings: ICE and CBP out of Minnesota—and all of our communities—immediately.

“For weeks, months, and now years, we’ve seen federal immigration agents’ tactics of violent escalation on display, nationally, with absolutely no accountability or oversight. Later this week, the Senate will be taking a critical vote on a funding package, including another round of funding for ICE and CBP. We urge every member of Congress to vote in their moral conscience, vote ‘No,’ and not hand over a single cent for DHS’s lawless campaign of terror in Minnesota, Maine, and across the United States. If Congress does not act now to stop DHS’s violence, the question is not whether another person will be killed—it is which one of our neighbors will be next. To uphold our Constitution, protect our rights to peacefully assemble, and keep our communities safe, Congress must defund DHS now.”

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The National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA) is a multi-ethnic, multiracial coalition of 88 of the nation’s largest immigrant and refugee rights organizations with reach across over 42 states. Together with our members, we advance immigrant and refugee equity and inclusion, build and expand immigration legal services and integration programming capacity, and drive campaigns that strengthen democracy through increased civic participation. See our website for more information at partnershipfornewamericans.org.