Barack Obama and Michelle Obama criticize federal immigration enforcement tactics in Minnesota following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, calling the incident a national wake-up call.<\/b>
\nFormer President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama said the killing of Alex Pretti was a national wake-up call, arguing that federal immigration agents in Minnesota are using tactics that intimidate and endanger residents while operating without sufficient accountability.
In their joint Sunday statement, the Obamas tied Pretti\u2019s death to weeks of escalating federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota that has sparked protests, controversy and clashes between local residents and agents, saying the broader response to his shooting illustrates how the tactics being used have widened divisions and heightened tensions nationwide.
Federal officials said Pretti, a 37-year-old Minneapolis resident and Veterans Affairs ICU nurse, was fatally shot by a Border Patrol agent during an early-morning immigration enforcement operation targeting Jose Huerta-Chuma, an illegal immigrant with a criminal history.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials said Pretti approached agents while armed with a 9mm pistol and \u00ab\u00a0violently resisted\u00a0\u00bb when officers attempted to disarm him. He was pronounced dead at the scene, and state officials said he had a valid permit to carry a firearm.
Framing the shooting as a broader warning, the Obamas urged Americans to consider what they described as the wider implications of the incident and its aftermath.
\u00ab\u00a0The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. 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\u00a0\u00bb, the Obamas said. \u00ab\u00a0Federal law enforcement and immigration agents have a tough job. But Americans expect them to carry out their duties in a lawful, accountable way, and to work with, rather than against, state and local officials to ensure public safety.\u00a0\u00bb
The Obamas said that is not what they are witnessing in Minnesota, arguing they are seeing the opposite.
\u00ab\u00a0For weeks now, people across the country have been rightly outraged by the spectacle of masked ICE recruits and other federal agents acting with impunity and engaging in tactics that seem designed to intimidate, harass, provoke and endanger the residents of a major American city\u00a0\u00bb, they said. \u00ab\u00a0These unprecedented tactics \u2013 which even the former top lawyer of the Department of Homeland Security in the first Trump administration has characterized as embarrassing, lawless and cruel \u2013 have now resulted in the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens.\u00a0\u00bb
The statement continued, accusing the Trump administration and DHS officials of failing to impose \u00ab\u00a0some semblance of discipline and accountability\u00a0\u00bb over agents deployed to Minnesota, and instead appearing \u00ab\u00a0eager to escalate the situation.\u00a0\u00bb
The Obamas also took aim at the Trump administration\u2019s public explanations for both Pretti\u2019s and Renee Good\u2019s deaths \u2013 the latter a Minneapolis mother of three shot and killed on Jan. 7 by an ICE agent during a federal enforcement action \u2013 suggesting officials were drawing conclusions without thorough investigations and before all the evidence had been fully reviewed.
\u00ab\u00a0This has to stop\u00a0\u00bb, the Obamas said. \u00ab\u00a0I would hope that after this most recent tragedy, administration officials will reconsider their approach, and start finding ways to work constructively with Governor [Tim] Walz and Mayor [Jacob] Frey as well as state and local police to avert more chaos and achieve legitimate law enforcement goals.\u00a0\u00bb
They also encouraged Americans to support protests in Minneapolis and across the country.
\u00ab\u00a0In the meantime, every American should support and draw inspiration from the wave of peaceful protests in Minneapolis and other parts of the country\u00a0\u00bb, the statement added. \u00ab\u00a0They are a timely reminder that ultimately it\u2019s up to each of us as citizens to speak out against injustice, protect our basic freedoms, and hold our government accountable.\u00a0\u00bb
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Obamas for further comment.<\/p>\n