By: Councilmember Bob Kettle, District 7

City Councilmember Bob Kettle (District 7) shared the following thoughts on the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

“A second tragic killing in three weeks by federal law enforcement in Minneapolis, and their indiscriminate heavy-handed operations against citizens and non-citizens alike, demand the need for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to cease operations in our city and cities across our country.

“These DHS federal law enforcement operations are ill-disciplined, not in keeping with established Department of Justice policy or guidance, and are marked by poor leadership, which makes public safety in our cities worse. We need a stand-down at once.

“The events post9/11, the Global War on Terror, and the creation of DHS changed our law enforcement approach to immigration from a guardian ethos to a warrior ethos at all levels of government. Local governments, such as Seattle, are working to return to a guardian approach. We need to do the same with federal law enforcement, especially within the Department of Homeland Security. 

“I ask our county, state, and federal delegations to join the City of Seattle in calling for, in effect, a “Consent Decree” for our federal immigration law enforcement to reform their working methods so that they can work their mandated mission sets, for example, dismantling terrorist networks and drug trafficking — not killing protesters. What our region needs is not ICE but rather the FBI, ATF, and DEA to stop the flow of guns and drugs into our city. That is where federal law enforcement can help improve our public safety.”