Chung Responds to ICE and Border Patrol Violence Across Twin Cities

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — State Rep. Sharon Chung, D-Bloomington, responds to the continued violence of ICE and Border Patrol officers in Minnesota, resulting in at least two deaths and countless injuries this month alone, with this statement:

“I am sickened by the news of an American citizen being killed, and children as young as 5 years-old being detained, in Minnesota this weekend. This is not a political issue. As a proud woman, a mother, the daughter of immigrants— speaking out against the violence we’re seeing ICE and Border Patrol agents commit against American citizens is non-negotiable.

“This weekend, 37 year-old Alex Pretti was executed by Border Patrol agents as he tried to protect a woman they were brutalising. Alex was a son to loving parents, VA nurse, and advocate for social justice. He was an American citizen, killed by Border Patrol for recording violence on his cell phone and protecting a woman being attacked. While he was armed, as is his Constitutional right, he did not brandish his weapon at any point in his deadly interaction with Border Patrol.”

“Already this year we have seen the murder of Renee Good, a loving mother and wife who was not engaged in a protest and whose last words were ‘I’m not mad at you.’ We’ve seen American citizens detained and released at best, killed at worst, and everything in between. This has to end.

“I want to commend my fellow Illinoisans and fellow Midwesterners for protesting despite the intense winter weather this weekend. You’ve made us all proud. I want to urge you all to continue to lead with kindness and empathy, even when facing the opposite. Continue to take care of one another, neighbors and strangers alike. We must all stand together in this fight.”

“The Trump Administration has talked about the ‘enemy within.’ The only enemy I see detaining and killing American citizens is ICE and Border Patrol. We must end this violence immediately, and begin to reform our immigration and immigration policies and processes in our country.”