East Bay leaders are calling for an end to the Trump administration’s aggressive enforcement operations as local protests continue.
by Darwin BondGraham Jan. 27, 2026 (Oaklandside.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 officials have attempted to claim — in defiance of the video evidence — that the deadly use of force was justified.
In Oakland and the East Bay, the reaction from elected officials and other community leaders has been one of outrage and opposition to the continuing mass deportation operation that set the stage for Pretti’s killing.
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Two other American citizens were killed in the weeks before Pretti. Renee Good was shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent on Jan. 7, and Keith Porter was shot by an off-duty ICE agent on New Year’s Eve in Los Angeles. The latest round of protests follow a wave of demonstrations that took place earlier this month after Good’s killing.
Two other people have been killed by federal immigration agents since last September: Silverio Villegas González, a father originally from Mexico and working as a cook in Chicago who was shot, reportedly while trying to flee, and Isaias Sanchez Barboza, a Mexican citizen killed in Rio Grande City, Texas, who was killed while agents were detaining him.
“Today’s fatal shooting by federal agents in Minneapolis — the third such incident in recent weeks — is a direct result of enforcement operations that treat American communities as combat zones,” Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee said Saturday, shortly after Pretti was killed. “These operations have resulted in senseless deaths and created an atmosphere of terror rather than safety — and we must condemn them unequivocally.”
On social media, Alameda County Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas called ICE and Customs and Border Patrol’s operations “lawless violence” and “sickening.”
“These agencies must be held accountable and they must leave the Twin Cities and all of our communities immediately,” she wrote. Bas also called on Alameda County residents to support county plans to create “ICE-free zones” and a response plan in case agents conduct similar operations here.
Rep. Lateefah Simon issued a statement hours after Pretti was killed, saying she supports Senate Democrats who are planning to vote against a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security. She voted against the bill when it was before the House.
“ICE is killing American citizens,” Simon said. “Trump 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.”
Simon was in Minneapolis earlier this month for a hearing, “Kidnapped and Disappeared: Trump’s Deadly Assault on Minnesota,” where she heard from residents about the impacts ICE and CBP operations have had on local communities.
The day before Pretti was killed, an estimated 1,500 people rallied in Fruitvale with the message “ICE out of everywhere,” 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.
“The teachers of Oakland stand in unequivocal solidarity with the people of Minnesota as they fight back against ICE agents terrorizing their communities,” said Jessica Papalia, a member of the teachers union, the Oakland Education Association. “Teachers will not stand by while our students’ lives are threatened and their right to an education is ignored.”
The National Nurses Union called for a week of action in honor of Pretti, who worked as an ICU nurse in a Minneapolis VA hospital. “ICE messed with the wrong profession,” the union wrote in a statement. “We nurses will fight to abolish ICE and bring about a vision for a healthy society based on nurses’ values of caring, compassion, and community.” One nurse protest took place at Oakland’s Kaiser Medical Center on Monday.
On Sunday, a rally also took place at Frank Ogawa Plaza.
Darwin BondGraham
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 was a staff writer for the East Bay Express. He holds a doctorate in sociology from UC Santa Barbara and was the co-recipient of the George Polk Award for local reporting in 2017. He is also the co-author of The Riders Come Out at Night, a book examining the Oakland Police Department’s history of corruption and reform.More by Darwin BondGraham
