Rep. Jim Costa's Statement on the Tragic Death of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, Minnesota

FRESNO, Calif. - Congressman Jim Costa released the following statement and video in light of the tragic death of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old U.S. Citizen and ICU nurse for a Veterans' Hospital, during an ICE raid in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

His statement transcribed: 

"Hello, I'm Congressman Jim Costa and I have the honor and the privilege to represent the people in the 21st Congressional District in California, including the counties of Fresno and Tulare. Like most Americans, I want to ensure that we can deal with the challenges facing our nation. When President Trump took office over a year ago, he claimed that he would engage in what he called mass deportation, but to reassure Americans that it would only focus on violent criminals and serious offenders. But that's not what we've seen happening across the country in recent months with immigration and customs enforcement agents under his directive who are arresting people first and asking questions later. 

And we've seen that the consequences are deadly. It's an ignoring of the Fourth Amendment in our Constitution where due process is required and where a law enforcement agency must have a court order before going to one's home and apprehending people who live there with no notice. This is not right. It's not the American way. 

And what we've witnessed is U.S. citizens that have been wrongfully detained, wrongfully deported. And now we've seen men and women who have actually been killed during these ICE operations while simply trying to protect their rights and being able to protest the actions of this agency in which the law doesn't seem to apply to them. 

Over the weekend, I witnessed a horrific shooting in Minneapolis. I think most Americans that have seen it would agree. Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen and ICU nurse in the Veterans Hospital there, was filming with his right hand held high, his iPhone, the federal immigration enforcement efforts taking place with multiple agents. He was trying to protect a woman who they had pushed to the ground. They grabbed him — multiple agents — that not only struck him down, but killed him. And it's not an isolated incident. 

This issue not only affects our immigrant community around the country, but all Americans, regardless of your political affiliation, race, your religion, or background. This is not the way due process is supposed to work in our country. When a U.S. citizen can be killed while peacefully observing federal agents attempting to apprehend individuals without an arrest warrant, no one — no one — should feel safe. 

Therefore, I think Congress must pursue its ability to conduct real-time oversight of immigration and detention and enforcement because Americans want to know the answers to their questions. The Administration, I think, has tried to delay the visits to detention centers. I know I've tried to visit one and they limited my interaction. They are not practicing transparency, and clearly they're trying to hide something in terms of what's happening behind closed doors. Americans have the right to know, and Congress should do its role as oversight. 

The Administration wants to claim transparency. Wonderful. Let them prove it. But yet operates in secrecy and fear — fear that is penetrating every community in America. When you shift the discussion and the narrative, you're leaving not only families in the dark, but our Representatives as well. We can’t allow agents with as little as eight weeks of police training in neighborhoods to then go out and terrorize our communities or operate without accountability. 

One death at the hands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents is one too many. Congress, I think, must demand accountability and exert our constitutional oversight powers and force meaningful reform that protects people's rights, our dignity, and their safety. We must put an end to the perpetration of fear. It clearly is on the agenda as ICE pursues communities in different cities in our country. And I think that’s the bottom line."