Honoring the Memory of Alex Pretti

We, the undersigned human rights scholars affiliated with the University of Minnesota’s Human Rights Program in the College of Liberal Arts, honor and mourn the life of Alex Pretti, a 2011 graduate of the College, who cared deeply for others and made a difference in his communities. 

An ICU nurse at the Minnesota Veterans Administration hospital, Alex was protecting the civil and human rights of his neighbors in South Minneapolis when Border Patrol agents murdered him. Mary Lawlor, the United Nations Special Rapporteur for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, has emphasized that Alex was shot dead by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents while documenting human rights violations and assisting those subjected to those violations. As scholars affiliated with the Human Rights Program at the University of Minnesota, we condemn his extrajudicial killing at the hands of militarized federal agents who for months have terrorized our streets and brutally violated the human rights of Minnesotans under the thin pretext of immigration control.

We also condemn the arbitrary and unlawful arrests of our neighbors and the cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment they have suffered during arrest, detention, and deportation. Federal agents have targeted individuals, families, children, and elders who have sought safety in our community. Our neighbors are arbitrarily and violently detained and deported without proper judicial warrants or due process; they are also denied the right to asylum proceedings. They are held in inhumane conditions, and endure cruel and degrading treatment while they are illegally denied medical care and legal counsel. According to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, at least 30 people died under suspicious circumstances in U.S. detention centers in 2025 and an additional six have died in January as of this writing. As scholars of human rights, we reiterate that the U.S. has an obligation to comply with international human rights law and international refugee law.

Somali, Latino, Hmong, Muslim, and other Asian, African, and Indigenous communities are subject to targeted vicious racist attacks and racial, ethnic, and religious discrimination from the federal government and its representatives. We condemn these attacks and stand in solidarity with all those affected by such discrimination, as well as indiscriminate and targeted violence. All of our students, faculty, and staff have and will continue to be vital members of our university and state. 

We also condemn the countless instances of state agents arbitrarily stopping, detaining, and using force against Minnesotans on the basis of discriminatory profiling—practices to which members of our community have long been subjected. International human rights law prohibits discrimination and guarantees all people equal treatment under the law. 

We also condemn the dishonest, dehumanizing, and xenophobic language, policies, and practices that have sought to facilitate and justify this violence. Our university and the global human rights movement are enriched by the knowledge, labor, culture, and creativity of people from many different communities in the Twin Cities, Minnesota, the U.S., and around the world. We stand united. 

As human rights scholars, we recognize authoritarian practices and join our colleagues in Minnesota and across the country in sounding the alarm against state-sanctioned violence and repeated violations of international human rights and constitutional rights everywhere they occur, including on the streets of Minneapolis, Saint Paul, and in other Minnesota communities. 

We express our gratitude to the tens of thousands of ordinary Minnesotans who are caring for their neighbors by delivering groceries, walking children to school, protecting neighborhoods, and courageously documenting violations of fundamental human rights. We know that silence in the face of injustice is interpreted by both perpetrators and victims of human rights violations as approval of such violations. In honor of Alex Pretti, Renee Good, and the many people both named and unnamed who have been so ruthlessly taken from our community, we will continue to resist repression, clearly condemn xenophobia and racism, demand accountability for human rights violations, and advocate for the protection of human rights and fundamental dignity of all our neighbors.

Elizabeth Boyle
Anna Clark
Danielle Dadras
Evelyn Davidheiser
Joan DeJaeghere
Barbara Frey
V.V. Ganeshananthan
Michael Goldman
Catherine Guisan
Serra Hakyemez
Lisa Hilbink
Helen M. Kinsella
Sonja Kuftinec
Deborah Levison
Stephen Meili
Patrick J. McNamara
Tricia Olsen 
Leigh Payne
Heather Randell
Eric Schwartz
Amelia Shindelar
Carrie Booth Walling