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The fatal shooting<\/a> of Veterans Affairs nurse Alex Pretti on Jan. 24 by federal agents has sparked outrage from many Americans, even while Trump administration officials have attempted to claim \u2014 in defiance of the video evidence<\/a> \u2014 that the deadly use of force was justified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Berkeley and the East Bay, the reaction from community leaders has been one of outrage and opposition to the continuing mass deportation operation, led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, which set the stage for Pretti\u2019s killing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Berkeley City Council adopted a resolution<\/a> Tuesday night that demands \u201can end to ICE and CBP surges in Minneapolis and across the country,\u201d and calls on federal lawmakers to abolish ICE as part of a wider restructuring of the Department of Homeland Security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Two other American citizens were killed in the weeks before Pretti. Renee Good<\/a> was shot by an ICE agent on Jan. 7, and Keith Porter<\/a> was shot by an off-duty ICE agent on New Year\u2019s Eve in Los Angeles. The latest protests follow a wave of demonstrations that took place earlier this month<\/a> after Good\u2019s killing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Two other people have been killed by federal immigration agents<\/a> since September: Silverio Villegas Gonz\u00e1lez, a father originally from Mexico and working as a cook in Chicago, was shot, reportedly while trying to flee, and Isaias Sanchez Barboza, a Mexican citizen, was killed in Rio Grande City, Texas, while agents were detaining him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Berkeley resolution, which was approved unanimously, states that the City Council supports local leaders and \u201call the people of Minnesota who are peacefully protesting the lawless surge of ICE and CBP agents in their state, which is undermining public safety, harming and killing local residents, and taking an immense economic and psychological toll on residents.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The resolution also calls for a long list of changes to immigration enforcement nationally, including an end to federal agents wearing masks, the firing of Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino and White House adviser Stephen Miller, and for the officers who killed Pretti and others \u201cto be held fully responsible for their actions by the judicial system.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs the first sanctuary city in the country, the city Berkeley stands in solidarity with Minnesota and the Twin Cities, and will do everything it can to support them in protecting their communities against this unprecedented federal intrusion,\u201d Mayor Adena Ishii said at Tuesday\u2019s council meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On social media<\/a>, Alameda County Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas called ICE and Customs and Border Patrol\u2019s operations \u201clawless violence\u201d and \u201csickening.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThese agencies must be held accountable and they must leave the Twin Cities and all of our communities immediately,\u201d she wrote. Bas also called on Alameda County residents to support county plans to create \u201cICE-free zones\u201d and a response plan in case agents conduct similar operations here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rep. Lateefah Simon issued a statement<\/a> hours after Pretti was killed, saying she supports Senate Democrats who are planning to vote against<\/a> a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security. She voted against the bill when it was before the House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cICE is killing American citizens,\u201d Simon said. \u201cTrump and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem have enabled a system of abuse of government power, militarism, and unchecked state violence where communities are treated as disposable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Simon was in Minneapolis earlier this month<\/a> for a hearing, \u201cKidnapped and Disappeared: Trump\u2019s Deadly Assault on Minnesota,\u201d where she heard from residents about the impacts ICE and CBP operations have had on local communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Residents have held several protests against the Trump administration\u2019s mass-deportation campaign around the East Bay over the past week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The day before Pretti was killed, people protested outside two Berkeley schools<\/a> and in the Southside neighborhood. An estimated 1,500 people rallied<\/a> the same day in Oakland\u2019s Fruitvale neighborhood with the message \u201cICE out of everywhere,\u201d according to KTVU. Unions including UNITE HERE Local 2, UAW 4811, UAW 2320, the California Nurses Association, UC American Federation of Teachers 1474, Oakland Education Association, the Committee of Interns and Residents, SEIU, and the Alameda Labor Council endorsed the rally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The National Nurses Union called for a week of action<\/a> in honor of Pretti, who worked as an ICU nurse in a Minneapolis VA hospital. \u201cICE messed with the wrong profession,\u201d the union wrote in a statement. \u201cWe nurses will fight to abolish ICE and bring about a vision for a healthy society based on nurses\u2019 values of caring, compassion, and community.\u201d One nurse protest took place at Oakland\u2019s Kaiser Medical Center on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n People also demonstrated in North Berkeley and at Emeryville\u2019s Huchiun Park on Tuesday. And organizers have called for a rally against ICE operations<\/a> at Sproul Plaza on the UC Berkeley campus at 2 p.m. Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n January 23, 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n January 11, 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n January 23, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n darwin@oaklandside.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Before joining The Oaklandside as News Editor, Darwin BondGraham was a freelance investigative reporter covering police and prosecutorial misconduct. He has reported on gun violence for The Guardian and…\u00a0More by Darwin BondGraham<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n nico@berkeleyside.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Nico Savidge is Berkeleyside’s associate editor, and has covered city hall since 2021. He has reported on transportation, law enforcement, politics, education and college sports for the San Jose Mercury… More by Nico Savidge<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Berkeley City Council passed a resolution that calls for abolishing ICE and ending the Trump administration\u2019s aggressive enforcement operations. by\u00a0Darwin BondGraham\u00a0and\u00a0Nico Savidge Jan. 28, 2026 (Berkeleyside.org) The fatal shooting of Veterans Affairs nurse Alex Pretti on Jan. 24 by federal agents has sparked outrage from many Americans, even while Trump administration… Continue reading Berkeley expresses support for leaders and people of Minnesota<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"People](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newspack-berkeleyside-cityside.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/DSC0234-2560x1707.jpg?resize=780%2C520&ssl=1\")
Anti-ICE protesters hold demonstrations in the East Bay<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Related stories<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Anti-ICE](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newspack-berkeleyside-cityside.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_5181-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nAnti-ICE protests Friday at Berkeley schools and a Hilton hotel in the Southside neighborhood<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Protests](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newspack-berkeleyside-cityside.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/large-Chevron-protest.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&ssl=1\"){kind=icon}
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nProtests against ICE and U.S. intervention in Venezuela held in Berkeley at Chevron station and I-80 overpass<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"East](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newspack-berkeleyside-cityside.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-3.png?resize=1200%2C900&ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nEast Bay faith leaders fly to Minneapolis and fast at home against ICE<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n