On Monday, January 26, SEIU 1021 members at San Francisco General Hospital and Wilma Chan Highland Hospital in Oakland held vigils in honor of Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse for a VA hospital who was murdered by ICE agents in Minneapolis after trying to assist a protester who was violently pushed to the ground by ICE agents. 

Emergency room nurse John Pearson, SEIU 1021’s RN industry chair, said, “ICU nurse Alex Pretti was shot repeatedly in the back and killed by ICE while calmly defending his neighbors, even after being pepper sprayed in the face. Respect for human life is a basic value we all hold. It’s in our face daily that ICE does not share our values. We are nurses—professional caregivers—and union members who value human life.

“There should be no more funding for ICE, and federal agents who are killing, kidnapping and rampaging through our cities should be held accountable.”