MSI previously reported that at least six people had died during the immigration enforcement operations and that video evidence had contradicted federal accounts in at least two of the deaths. That story detailed the deaths of Pretti, Good, and four others spanning from July through January.
The Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, which has involved thousands of federal officers and street-level sweeps in multiple cities, has left at least six people dead since July, according to an Associated Press review of the cases.
The most recent death — and the one that has drawn the sharpest public backlash — occurred Jan. 24 in Minneapolis. Alex Pretti, 37, a nurse at a local hospital, was shot by a Border Patrol officer. Federal authorities initially described Pretti as an armed agitator who posed a threat to immigration officers. But video of the shooting, which has been widely circulated, showed Pretti’s hands holding only a phone when a masked Border Patrol officer opened fire. Pretti, a U.S. citizen, was permitted to possess a handgun in Minnesota. In the video, an officer appears to pull a gun from Pretti’s waist and step away; the first shot was fired immediately after, followed by more. Pretti was on the ground when he was killed.
Gov. Tim Walz denounced as “despicable” the comments that federal officials made about Pretti.
Pretti’s death was the second fatal shooting in Minneapolis linked to the immigration enforcement campaign in January. On Jan. 7, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fatally shot Renee Good, 37, a U.S. citizen who used her vehicle to block a street. Video showed Good turning the wheels of her Honda Pilot away from ICE officer Jonathan Ross when he opened fire. Trump administration officials have repeatedly defended Ross, claiming his life was at risk. “I’m not mad at you,” Good said before Ross fired his gun. The Justice Department said it would not share information on the shooting with state authorities. State and local officials subsequently sued to try to stop the immigration sweeps, which have involved thousands of federal officers. Protesters with whistles have trailed officers who, in response, have deployed tear gas and other chemical irritants.
The deaths began months earlier, on July 10, when authorities were rounding up dozens of farmworkers at Glass House Farms in Camarillo, California. Jaime Alanis, 57, a laborer from Mexico who had spent a decade working at the farm, fell from the roof of a greenhouse — about 30 feet (9 meters) — and broke his neck, the AP reported. He died at a hospital two days later. Relatives said Alanis had called family to say he was hiding during the raid. Homeland Security said Alanis was never in custody and was not being chased by immigration authorities.
On Aug. 14, a man running from immigration officers outside a Home Depot store in Monrovia, California, died after being hit by an SUV while trying to cross Interstate 210, the AP reported. The man was identified by the National Day Laborer Organizing Network as Roberto Carlos Montoya Valdez, 52, of Guatemala. Homeland Security said Montoya Valdez was not being pursued by immigration authorities when he ran.
On Sept. 12, ICE agents fatally shot Silverio Villegas González during a traffic stop in suburban Chicago. The 38-year-old line cook from Mexico had dropped off a child at day care that morning, relatives said. The Department of Homeland Security initially said agents were pursuing a man with a history of reckless driving who was in the country illegally, and alleged that Villegas González evaded arrest and dragged an officer with his vehicle. Homeland Security said the officer opened fire fearing for his life and was hospitalized with “serious injuries.” However, local police videos showed the agent walking around and dismissing his own injuries as “nothing major.” Homeland Security has said the death remains under investigation.
On Oct. 23, a pickup truck fatally struck Josué Castro Rivera on a highway in Norfolk, Virginia, as he tried to escape authorities during a traffic stop. Castro Rivera, 24, of Honduras, was heading to a gardening job with three passengers when ICE officers pulled over the vehicle, according to his brother, Henry Castro. State and federal authorities said Castro Rivera ran away on foot and was hit by a pickup truck on Interstate 264. Homeland Security said Castro Rivera’s vehicle was stopped as part of a “targeted, intelligence-based” operation and that Castro Rivera had “resisted heavily and fled.” His brother said Castro Rivera worked to send money to family in Honduras.
Across all six cases, no federal officers have been charged, according to the AP. The deaths come as the administration’s nationwide enforcement push continues to draw legal challenges and public protests.