Last night, about 200 nurses and supporters clustered outside UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland, candles in hand, to protest the killing of Minneapolis ICU nurse Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents. Most in the crowd were registered nurses, holding signs, swapping stories from their clinics, and talking about the fear they say patients now carry into waiting rooms as federal enforcement operations continue nationwide. Organizers described the vigil as both a memorial and the opening move in a local campaign to push back on aggressive immigration policing.
Vigil Outside Oakland Hospital Led By Nurses’ Union
The candlelight gathering was put together by the California Nurses Association, with many in the crowd holding signs that read “Melt ICE” and “Justice for Alex Pretti,” according to The Mercury News. Photographs and coverage also showed parallel vigils elsewhere in the Bay Area, including one in San Francisco and another at Oscar Grant Plaza in Oakland, as documented by the San Francisco Chronicle. Many attendees said the night was less about a single ceremony and more about converting collective grief into sustained political pressure.
Voices From The Hospital Steps
“I needed to stand up for this and to just make myself present to the horrendous things that are going on in this country,” nurse Mary Dhont told the crowd, as nurses said they could no longer stay quiet, according to The Mercury News. Alameda resident Aaron Cortez, 28, said fear of being judged by his skin color pushed him to show up, a sentiment echoed by others who worry that Bay Area communities could be targeted next. The mood was mixed, combining sorrow and anger, with pointed calls for specific policy changes to protect both patients and hospital staff.
Union Turns Mourning Into Policy Push
The California Nurses Association said more than 150 registered nurse leaders plan to march from the union’s Oakland headquarters to an Alameda County Board of Supervisors meeting to support proposals for “ICE free zones” and an Alameda County Immigration Enforcement Response Plan, according to a union press release. The union is also urging supervisors to oppose reopening FCI Dublin as an immigration detention center and is calling for county protocols to shield patients and staff during federal enforcement actions. Union leaders cast the march as a deliberate next step after the vigil, a shift from candles and speeches to organizing at the county government level.
Disputed Shooting Of Minneapolis ICU Nurse
Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive-care nurse at the Minneapolis VA, was shot and killed during a federal enforcement operation. Federal officials said he approached Border Patrol agents with a handgun, while bystander videos and witnesses have raised doubts about that account, according to reporting by The Washington Post. The shooting has sparked protests in Minnesota and triggered national outcry from health workers and civil rights advocates, who say what they see in the videos does not match the administration’s initial narrative. Family members and colleagues have described Pretti as a caregiver who frequently turned up at protests to help people injured in clashes with federal agents.
Evidence Fight Puts Spotlight On Investigation
State investigators said they were kept from the scene despite having a warrant, and a federal judge later issued an emergency order barring federal agencies from destroying or altering evidence while the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension pushed to preserve it, according to CBS News. Federal officials say their investigation is ongoing, but the tug-of-war over access and evidence preservation has become a central legal flashpoint in efforts to determine what happened. That uncertainty is fueling louder demands from local leaders and unions for transparency and accountability.
Bay Area Politics Collide With Homeland Security Funding
Bay Area elected officials and union leaders are using the case to underscore a broader clash over Homeland Security funding and enforcement priorities. Rep. Lateefah Simon (D-Oakland) said she voted against H.R. 7147 and stated that she “cannot and will not continue to fund lawlessness,” according to a statement from her office. The House nonetheless passed the Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill by a 220-207 vote, per Congress.gov, a result that activists say makes local pressure campaigns, such as the nurses’ march to the county board, feel even more urgent.
What Organizers Say Comes Next
Organizers stressed that yesterday’s vigil was only the opening act, with nurses preparing to march to the Alameda County Board of Supervisors meeting to press for ICE-free zone policies and a countywide immigration enforcement response plan, according to the union release.
