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It has been days since the people of Minneapolis have expressed their anger about the shooting of Alex Pretti at the hands of federal agents who are conducting a campaign to crackdown on immigrants in the city.
Some of them spoke to CBC News reporter Katie Simpson and producer Yasmine Hassan about their reaction to the incident, as well as US President Donald Trump’s move to send more than 2,000 Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) officers to Minnesota.
Here is what a few of them had to say.
Ashley Watson
Ashley Watson, a former member of the US Army, says she is proud of her country but the Trump administration does not reflect the American people.
“I’ve seen ICE on our streets regularly for months now. Our community has been terrorized by them,” Watson said.
He brought an American flag to a vigil outside the Veterans Affairs hospital where Pretti worked as an ICU nurse.
Watson says he hung the flag to appear in retreat, in accordance with Army regulations that call for the flag to be draped over the right shoulder of the uniform to give the effect of flying in the air as a soldier moves forward into battle.
“My protest to ICE is also my encouragement to our community,” Watson said.
“So the stars and stripes go forward because we will press on and we will overcome this,” he said. “We will get through this; I know we are.”
Joel Lueders
Joel Lueders was also standing outside the hospital where Pretti worked.
“I had to come out because I have a lot of anger and sadness inside me,” said Lueders. “I know other people feel the same way.”
He held a sign with one word: “Trust.”
“I hope the cool heads prevail,” Lueders said. “Put immigration aside; this is about enforcement that has just been done completely wrong.”
Lueders was asked his message to people outside the US
“I want you to know that some of us out there are really trying,” he said. “Don’t lose hope together.”
JP Pritchett
JP Pritchett is the owner of Smitten Kitten, a thrift store that has become a hub for distributing food and household essentials to families who are afraid to shop in public during the attacks.
“I think ‘white rage’ is a more apt description,” Pritchett said when asked how they felt at the time.
“And what do you say about this?” Pritchett said in an in-store interview.
“We have the United States government – wearing little ‘Police’ badges and vests – killing people on the streets and lying about it,” they said.
“That offends everything that makes sense; that offends humanity at a fundamental level. There are no words for it. I have no words for it.”
Tony Lott
Tony Lott, a 56-year-old professor of international relations at a liberal arts college, was among those demonstrating outside the Whipple Building, the federal facility where ICE holds many of its detainees.
“What we’re seeing right now on the streets of Minneapolis and across the state of Minnesota makes me cry,” Lott said.
“I don’t believe we’re in a situation where the federal government is trying to take over one of our happiest, Midwestern cities,” he said.
Lott says he sees something positive in the way the community has responded to ICE’s push.
“I’m so happy to be a Minnesotan. It’s just great to watch the people of Minnesota peacefully stand up to this job,” he said.
Jennifer Arnold
Jennifer Arnold is the executive director of United Renters for Justice, a nonprofit renters’ rights group.
Arnold told CBC News Network’s Hillary Johnstone on Tuesday that his home in Minneapolis is close to where Pretti was killed.
“My whole family came out with candles at 7 p.m. and sang songs on the street corner with many of our neighbors,” said Arnold.
“We sang about our peace and our determination and our pain and sadness for all that we have lost.”
Arnold says the loss isn’t just for Pretti and Renee Nicole Good, the mother of three who was shot and killed by an ICE agent in early January.
“These are all members of the community who have disappeared and we still haven’t returned.
