ICE presence still at large; situation in country is complicated
By now, most people know about Saturday morning’s killing of the 37-year-old male nurse in downtown Minneapolis, Alex Pretti.
The guy worked at the VA hospital, in the ICU. Today, he should be alive, not dead.
The digital recordings of him getting shot by multiple federal agents are all over the internet.
Not long after the weekend killing took place, I checked the president’s Truth Social page, and I read comments like this from his fan base:
“Moral of the story? Don’t bring a gun to a pepper spray fight. You might get dead.”
Comments like this are all over the president’s Truth Social page, Fox News, so-called conservative podcasts. They either haven’t seen all the videos, or they’re clear examples of Richard Pryor’s trademark line:
“Who you gonna believe? Me, or your lyin’ eyes?”
Hard to argue with what the digital recordings clearly show — a calculated killing at the hands of federal agents. No other way to spin it. Alex Pretti posed absolutely no threat to federal agents before he was gunned down. And that was after he was beaten, while on the ground, with approximately five guys on top of him, having already been hit with pepper spray. When shot, anyone who’s being honest can clearly see that he had already been disarmed.
He never drew his weapon. While it may not be wise to bring a gun to an ICE protest, the fact remains: by doing so, Alex Pretti was not committing a crime.
It may also not be wise to be carrying two extra mags on you, but again, that’s still not against the law.
In the old America, doing that wouldn’t get you killed.
A Poor Track Record
But it’s all the fault of Democrats, according to some who defend the current state of America, the RGV, where already approximately 10,000 people have been arrested by ICE, most of them without a criminal record.
How do we know that most arrested here don’t have a criminal record?
In November 2025, a Department of Justice document filed in federal court as part of an ongoing lawsuit revealed the true scope of “Operation Midway Blitz” in Chicago.
The Stat: Of 614 individuals arrested during a specific window of the operation, 598 had no criminal record at the time of their arrest.
Meaning, roughly 97.4 percent of those swept up by the feds weren’t criminals. The only criminal act, if you will, that they’re being charged with is being in this country illegally.
Yet, how many times has America been told that the “worst of the worst” is being swept from our streets?
That’s not the case at all. The Trump Administration is targeting Maria the maid, Juan the dishwasher, Jose the plumber.
Gone, in a flash. The Valley economy, particularly the construction sector, is taking a beating, but, hey, at least we’re getting the undocumented immigrants who still want to work off the streets and out of the country.
The problem is, replacing them isn’t so easy. It’s not like there is this long line of Americans eager to get up on the roof and replace shingles, or lay down a new concrete driveway when the temp is 100 degrees.
What kills me, pardon the pun, is that many Republicans who have defended the Second Amendment all their lives will condone this needless killing of Alex Pretti.
Not surprising, I guess, since the president blamed both killings (Pretti and Renee Good) on the Democrats’ unwillingness to cooperate with ICE, posting this on Truth Social late Sunday:
“By doing this, Democrats are putting Illegal Alien Criminals over Taxpaying, Law-Abiding Citizens, and they have created dangerous circumstances for EVERYONE involved. Tragically, two American Citizens have lost their lives as a result of this Democrat ensued chaos.”