To our Legal Observer volunteers and YARR community,
This morning, we heard of yet another horrific ICE murder in Minnesota. Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37 year old ICU nurse, was shot several times after multiple agents are seen on video tackling him to the ground and beating him. While information is still being released, we have seen the videos of Alex recording the ICE officials with his phone, standing up for the constitutional right to document what happens in our communities.
Please join us in a vigil to mourn the murder of Alex, Renee, Keith, and all those who have been harmed by ICE or other arms of the machine. Stand with us against the violence and chaos ICE is bringing to our communities.
Santa Cruz Clocktower
Sunday Jan. 25th 7pm
The people of Minneapolis and surrounding communities have been under relentless attack by agents from the Department of Homeland Security. It is hard to believe, but residents of these communities are now accustomed to the sight of vehicles abandoned by the side of the road, with windows broken and seat belts cut after the occupants have been “disappeared” into the shadowy and unaccountable system of immigration detention. We have seen the pictures of pre-schoolers who have been kidnapped by armed, masked men. We have seen the videos of community members racially profiled, snatched off the street and denied due process, doors broken down without warrants, and legal observers and bystanders threatened, gassed and dragged from their cars. Closer to home in southern California, an off-duty ICE officer shot and killed Keith Porter in Los Angeles. To put it plainly, ICE is out of control and making our communities less safe.
This murder comes the day after a regional general strike, with 50,000 Minnesotans marching in -10 degree weather to stand up for their neighbors. People are coming together to protect their community, doing grocery deliveries for impacted neighbors, standing watch on corners, sounding the alarm when ICE arrives on their streets, and recording activities of ICE as a tool to hold them accountable. We’ve seen the photos showing hundreds of neighbors out recording video on their cell phones stepping into the role of legal observers just when this work is most needed as we work together to defeat fascism. We are in solidarity with the community in Minnesota.
Once again, as with the previous murder of Renee Good, the official DHS narrative that agents were in danger at the time of shooting is already collapsing under video evidence from multiple vantage points. The real story can be told thanks to those community members who stepped out into the streets to take video and photographs. And it is important to also recognize that these videos are only capturing what happens before people are taken away, before we are blocked from seeing the horrors that are happening behind the closed doors of detention facilities.
We are heartbroken, infuriated, shaken to the core. And we stand together in our resolve to not accept what is happening all across our country, and to do what we can within our rights to protect our community.
We know that being a Legal Observer is a choice that must be taken seriously. Each of us taking on this role should consider the potential risks and benefits to this work. Being a Legal Observer, and recording the police as they act in public, is protected by the Constitution. Yet we are living in an unprecedented time of expanded attacks on our constitutional protections. Each of us must weigh for ourselves, our families, and our community whether it is the right decision to respond as a Legal Observer. What you choose to do is up to you. Please know that there are many ways to support the work of YARR, including and beyond the work of legal observation. While some of us may need to reconsider, others of us may want to increase our level of activity in the wake of these acts. We encourage you to reach out to ask about the various ways you can support our work and sign up for an orientation or training here: https://santacruzrapidresponse.org/upcoming-orientations-trainings/
We in YARR will continue to stand together to help make our communities safe, to make sure that all of us know we are not facing this threat alone, and to stand up against an administration that is sowing fear with violence and hate. We urge you to stay involved in whatever ways feel right to you. There is both comfort and hope in working together as a community to make the change we need.
– Your Allied Rapid Response
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