On Sunday, the American Federation of Government Employees will hold vigils across the country to honor Alex Pretti. AFGE Local 2092 will participate.
The federal employee union strongly condemned the actions of ICE following the shooting of the ICU nurse and called for the resignations of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. This after they called Pretti a domestic terrorist, just hours after he was shot in the back by ICE.
Air Force vet and President of AFGE’s Ann Arbor chapter Rob Melosh says immigration reform needs to change and should treat life with the utmost respect. Melosh says Pretti was someone who put others before himself and paid the ultimate sacrifice for doing so.
"You know, I serve people every day, and I don't have the ability, the strength, the compassion and the empathy that Alex must have had to do the job he did for veterans every single day. And then, he's out exercising his constitutional rights, and he's just shot down by untrained street thugs that are just out there pushing their own agenda."
As a veteran, Melosh says he is disheartened by the actions of ICE and the way immigration reform is being handled by this administration. He says he never thought he’d see the day the United States government would turn on its own citizens.
“I never for one minute thought that our government would be turned on the American people, and that’s what it appears to be. I believe that Renee Good and Alex Pretti were murdered.”
Sunday’s vigil for Alex Pretti starts at 6 PM outside the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System on Fuller Road.
Non-commercial, fact based reporting is made possible by your financial support. Make your donation to WEMU today to keep your community NPR station thriving.
Like 89.1 WEMU on Facebook and follow us on X (Twitter)
Contact WEMU News at 734.487.3363 or email us at studio@wemu.org
