Two agents in Alex Pretti shooting have ties to RGV
The fallout from the Jan. 24 Alex Pretti shooting up in Minneapolis now includes the names of the two Border Patrol agents who shot him. Turns out, they’re from South Texas. One even attended college at UT-Pan Am (the new UT-RGV). That news comes via ProPublica, which broke the story, no thanks to the feds: “Thefederalgovernmentveryquickly shut down information. Wouldn’t release the names to state leaders there in Minnesota,” ProPublica investigative reporter J. David McSwane said (Source: mprnews.org).
Now, though, their names are all over national, state, local news Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez were identified as the two agents involved in the shooting (approximately 10 shots total).
The Department of Justice has opened a civil rights investigation into the incident, with Homeland Security (DHS) Investigations leading the review.
Working against the government’s claim that the investigation will be impartial is the fact that not long after Pretti was shot and killed, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem was already in front of the news cameras declaring the victims as a “domestic terrorist.” According to the ProPublica story, Ochoa joined Customs and Border Patrol in 2018 after graduating from UT-Pan Am (UT-RGV) with a degree in criminal justice.
Gutierrez became a federal agent in 2014.
Both men are part of the Trump Administration’s Operation Metro Surge, an immigration dragnet launched last year, which ended up with approximately 3,000 federal agents in Minneapolis (ICE and Border Patrol).
The first fatal shooting came Jan. 7th, Renee Good, followed by the killing of Alex Pretti on Jan. 24th.
According to ProPublica’s investigative reporter, J. David McSwane, his reporting is honoring transparency and accountability for American law enforcement: “The America I grew up in, it’s been a tradition that we can identify our law enforcement officers. It’s actually a huge departure in law enforcement, according to experts we’ve talked to for many months now, to conceal the identities of officers but also allow them to wear masks,” he said.
The Pre-1924 Era
Hard to believe in a way, but prior to 1924, there was no formal U.S. Border Patrol. Residents along the Rio Grande crossed daily for work and commerce without federal interference. The American Southwest’s economy was built on this open exchange; the Texas State Historical Association notes that labor was recruited freely to fuel the expansion of railroads and agriculture.
This era of openness came to a grinding halt on May 26, 1924, when President Calvin Coolidge signed the Immigration Act of 1924. While the law is famous for establishing a race-based quota system, its most lasting impact was the creation of the Border Patrol just two days later. By formalizing the border as a site of policing rather than just customs, the Coolidge administration effectively “invented” the concept of the undocumented immigrant.
This legislative shift, some pro-immigrants argue, set the groundwork for the 1954 deportations (Operation Wetback, courtesy of Eisenhower) and the high-stakes raids now unfolding in Minnesota. Critics argue these recent deaths are the inevitable result of a policy that, much like its 1950s predecessor, prioritizes “show of force” over civil liberties.
Just as Operation Wetback was notorious for wrongfully deporting U.S. citizens based on racial profiling, today’s operations have faced accusations of bypassing local oversight, while still using racial profiling, now sanctioned by the U.S. Supreme Court.
This doesn’t even include what was done to Americans of Japanese descent during WWII on the West Coast (forced detentions, removal from their homes, etc.)