New Liberals,

The deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti have left us horrified, angry, and heartbroken for the city of Minneapolis and our country. Their unjustified deaths at the hands of federal agents are an affront to the values of a free and liberal society. 

The Twin Cities New Liberals and the Center for New Liberalism are joining together today to offer our condolences to the families of Renee and Alex and to demand an end to the Trump Administration’s current approach to immigration enforcement.

Accountability must begin with transparency. With the federal government attempting to shut down and impede state-level investigations into the shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, it is clear that the federal government cannot be trusted to hold itself accountable. Minnesota’s state and local authorities have the right and the duty to conduct an impartial investigation. Federal agents are not, and should never be, immune from consequences for their actions, and should the state find evidence justifying charges against the agents who murdered Renee and Alex, they must be brought to justice. 

We also know that these acts of violence were enabled by a broader, fundamentally illiberal approach to immigration policy. Operation Metro Surge was never about public safety, ending fraud, or even immigration enforcement. Rather, it has been an attempt to flex state power to intimidate and spread fear in our communities. The rhetoric in the immediate aftermath of the deaths of Renee and Alex, in which senior officials in the Trump administration sought to label them as terrorists and assassins, has been chilling and makes clear that this administration views the individual rights and liberties of its citizens as secondary to their own agenda. There is no question: the Trump administration has abandoned the values and ideals upon which this country was founded in favor of cruelty. 

Ultimately, the tragedies in Minneapolis are the direct result of the Trump administration’s reckless choice to supercharge funding for ICE last year under the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA). The unprecedented amount of money given to ICE and Border Patrol has enabled these agencies to hire thousands of unqualified individuals with reduced training, and has led to their transformation into an unaccountable machine for their campaign of fear and intimidation. 

The Democratic members of Congress who stood on principle and voted unanimously against OBBBA deserve tremendous credit, but looking to the future, more must be done. To prevent future deaths like those of Renee and Alex, it must be a priority for Democrats in 2026 and 2028 to repeal the surge in funding authorized under OBBBA. A functional, liberal immigration system can be built without engaging in the reckless spending of tax dollars that has been employed by the Trump Administration. 

Immigration is a net positive for every community, including Minneapolis, and it can be managed effectively without the deployment of untrained and unaccountable federal agents in our streets. We will continue to advocate for a system of immigration that prioritizes real policy solutions and liberal values over the dehumanizing political theater employed by the current administration. 

For Renee, for Alex, and for everyone in Minneapolis and the rest of the country, we will continue fighting for a return to the liberal values that this nation was founded on. 

The Center for New Liberalism and the Twin Cities New Liberals