National Nurses United, the nation’s largest union and professional association of registered nurses with more than 225,000 members, issued the following statement in response to the murder of Alex Pretti, RN:

“The nation’s nurses, who make it their mission to care for and save human lives, are horrified and outraged that immigration agents have once again committed cold-blooded murder of a public observer who posed no threat to them. This time, they have executed one of our fellow nurses, Alex Pretti, who saved veterans’ lives as an intensive care unit RN for the Veterans Health Administration. He not only advocated for his patients inside the VA as a member of American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), but also took his advocacy to the streets to stand up for his community as nurses do. We demand justice and accountability for his murder.

ICE and all related immigration enforcement agencies have repeatedly shown through their violence, terror, and lawlessness that they pose a dire public health threat to the entire country and all our communities. ICE agents have been kidnapping hard working people - mothers, fathers, and children - and now murdered a registered nurse, one of the most trusted professions in the country.

Nurses demand the immediate abolition of ICE.

Nurses are trained to respond to emergent situations and this is why we are calling for urgent action to end the ICE violence in our communities. National Nurses United calls for a no vote on the Homeland Security Appropriations bill that is up for Senate approval next week and demands Congress abolish ICE entirely. We will be doing everything in our power to vote out any elected official who supports funding for this all-out assault on the health, safety, and civil rights of our people.

Abolish ICE now.”

National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the United States with more than 225,000 members nationwide. NNU affiliates include California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, DC Nurses Association, Michigan Nurses Association, Minnesota Nurses Association, and New York State Nurses Association.