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Former 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’s 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 “violently resisted” 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.
BORDER PATROL-INVOLVED SHOOTING REPORTED IN MINNEAPOLIS
Former President Barack Obama attends a “get out the vote” rally at the Essex County College gymnasium in Newark, N.J., on Nov. 1. (Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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.
“The 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,” the Obamas said. “Federal 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.”
The Obamas said that is not what they are witnessing in Minnesota, arguing they are seeing the opposite.
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A screengrab from a video shows a law enforcement officer spraying irritants at Alex Pretti before he was fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis on Jan. 24, 2026. (Reuters)
“For 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,” they said. “These unprecedented tactics – which even the former top lawyer of the Department of Homeland Security in the first Trump administration has characterized as embarrassing, lawless and cruel – have now resulted in the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens.”
The statement continued, accusing the Trump administration and DHS officials of failing to impose “some semblance of discipline and accountability” over agents deployed to Minnesota, and instead appearing “eager to escalate the situation.”
The Obamas also took aim at the Trump administration’s public explanations for both Pretti’s and Renee Good’s deaths – the latter a Minneapolis mother of three shot and killed on Jan. 7 by an ICE agent during a federal enforcement action – suggesting officials were drawing conclusions without thorough investigations and before all the evidence had been fully reviewed.
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Federal agents fire tear gas at protestors on Jan. 24, 2026, in Minneapolis. Earlier that day agents allegedly shot and killed a protestor amid a scuffle to arrest him. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
“This has to stop,” the Obamas said. “I 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.”
They also encouraged Americans to support protests in Minneapolis and across the country.
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“In the meantime, every American should support and draw inspiration from the wave of peaceful protests in Minneapolis and other parts of the country,” the statement added. “They are a timely reminder that ultimately it’s up to each of us as citizens to speak out against injustice, protect our basic freedoms, and hold our government accountable.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Obamas for further comment.
