Vigil For Nurse Slain By Immigration Agents To Be Held In Morris County

MORRIS COUNTY, NJ — A vigil has been organized in Morris County to remember Alex Pretti, a Minnesota man who was shot and killed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents in Minneapolis this weekend.

The vigil is slated for Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at Roxbury’s town hall, a town dealing with its own concerns regarding immigration agencies, specifically U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“Before he was a dedicated ICU nurse at a VA hospital, Alex was a vibrant soul known for his love of the outdoors,” organizers said. “Those who knew him personally remember his kindness, his spirit, and the way he embraced life under the open sky. He was a good man, a loyal friend, and a true pillar of the community.”

Organizers ask participants to wear a red poppy flower to symbolize Pretti’s dedication to veterans, and to bring signs “that celebrate his role as a VA nurse and his love of the outdoors.”

Candles will be provided.

Organizers asked that protest signs be left at home for the vigil, adding that “there will be a time for them in the near future.”

Click here for more information and to RSVP.

Following the vigil, participants are encouraged to attend Roxbury’s Town Hall meeting, where organizers will voice concerns related to ICE in their neighborhood.

ICE In Roxbury

The vigil comes weeks after Roxbury learned that ICE intends to build a detention facility in town, remodeling a warehouse.

According to the Washington Post, a location in Roxbury will become one of several warehouse-turned-detention facilities across the country. Roxbury’s proposed facility is expected to hold around 1,500 people at one time, the Post added.

The Post’s report also said the plans were unfinalized drafts and “subject to changes.”

On Wednesday, Senator Cory Booker met with Roxbury officials, who have opposed the idea of an ICE detention facility being built in the town, according to a report from TAPinto.

The report added that Roxbury officials have met with ICE representatives and explained their opposition to the proposal.

“We have to stop… any ICE detention facility (from being) built in our state,” Booker said. “We have to take the two ICE detention facilities that are here, many of them against local ordinances, didn’t even get certificates of occupancy, and stop their illegal activities, and activities that violate our collective values.”

The detention center plans have resulted in protests from residents of Roxbury and Morris County.

Minneapolis Shootings

Pretti, 37, was fatally shot multiple times by CBP officers in Minneapolis on Saturday morning during a confrontation near the intersection of 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis, his family told The Associated Press.

Federal authorities said Pretti was shot after he approached CPB agents with a handgun as they were conducting a targeted enforcement operation.

According to his family, Pretti was a nurse at the Veterans Administration who cared deeply about people and was upset by President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in his city.

Pretti's shooting, captured by multiple camera angles, has prompted outrage across the country. It comes just weeks after Renee Nicole Good, another U.S. citizen, was shot and killed by an ICE officer in south Minneapolis.