Stand with Minnesota: MJF Statement, Urgent Calls to Action, and Local Resources

MAF National Network
Written By Khudai Tanveer

“ We stand in solidarity with communities across Minnesota facing a federal occupation and call for an immediate end to ICE’s terror in Minnesota and everywhere.”

January 25, 2026

Muslims for Just Futures condemns the killing of Alex Jeffrey Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis. This is the second public killing of a legal observer in recent days.

Alex was killed the morning after more than 75,000 Minnesotans marched demanding that ICE leave the state. He was a registered ICU nurse who cared for veterans at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System and a union member of AFGE Local 3669 within the AFL-CIO. He was acting as a legal observer and protecting another observer when he was pepper sprayed, tackled, surrounded, and killed by federal agents.

We join the AFL-CIO in mourning Alex’s death and hold his loved ones, union siblings, and the people of Minneapolis in our hearts.

Alex’s father shared the following words in a public statement.

“I do not throw around the hero term lightly. However, his last thought and act was to protect a woman. The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting. Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by federal agents; he has his phone in his right hand and his empty left hand raised above his head while trying to protect the woman ICE just pushed down, all while being pepper sprayed. Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man. Thank you.” 

We stand in solidarity with communities across Minnesota facing a federal occupation and call for an immediate end to ICE’s terror in Minnesota and everywhere.

We also want to raise serious alarm over the demands issued by Attorney General Pam Bondi and what they signal for election independence, mass surveillance, and the weaponization of fraud allegations to dismantle essential community infrastructure.

  1. In a letter to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, AG Bondi claims Minnesota policies obstruct federal law enforcement and issues several demands. These include requiring the state to turn over Medicaid, SNAP, and other public-benefits records for federal fraud investigations. We are deeply concerned these records will be used to expand surveillance of working-class communities and deter people from accessing life-sustaining benefits, creating a chilling effect.

  2. The DOJ also demands that Minnesota repeal sanctuary policies and grant expanded access to ICE and federal law enforcement. At a moment when federal agencies are under scrutiny for lethal and unaccountable actions, state leaders are right to raise serious concerns about public safety and civil rights.

  3. Most alarmingly, the DOJ is demanding access to Minnesota’s statewide voter registration rolls. This threatens the independence of the upcoming midterm elections at a time when electoral integrity is critical. 

These developments go beyond concern and signal an accelerating consolidation of fascism, extrajudicial killings of legal observers followed by aggressive efforts to seize confidential data, enabling targeted repression and undermining the independence of voting blocs.

As such, MJF shares deep concern, followed by uplifting the following calls to actions from organizers on the groups, coupled by direct calls to action focused on community members and organizations.

Calls to Action: 

From the Ground: The National Solidarity Partner Toolkit calls for the following 4 key demands: 

  1. ICE must leave Minnesota now.

  2. Any officer who kills a civilian must be held legally accountable. That starts with legitimate investigations and charges by local officials. 

  3. Shut down Trump’s ICE. No additional federal funding for ICE in the upcoming Congressional budget and ICE should be investigated for human and Constitutional violations of Americans and our neighbors.

  4. Local organizers are calling upon all corporations to become 4th Amendment businesses, cease economic relations with ICE and refuse ICE entry or using their property for staging grounds, and lobby congress to freeze funding for ICE/DHS.   

Focus on Corporate Complicity and Boycotts

Email CEOs of companies supporting ICE: Please use Free DC’s Solidarity with Minnesota by emailing the CEOs of Target, Hilton, and Enterprise Petition to Target Corporate Actors supporting ICE. Action link here

Financial Action for Individuals and Organizations: Your 401(k) Shouldn’t Fund Detention and ICE: 

Most people held in ICE custody are detained in facilities operated by private prison corporations like CoreCivic and GEO Group, and your 401(k) may be funding them without your knowledge. Major asset managers including Vanguard, BlackRock, State Street, and Fidelity often hold these companies through passive index funds that ignore the impact on people and communities. Check whether your retirement plan includes private prison investments, choose a prison-free option if available, and organize with coworkers to demand that your plan administrator stop profiting from immigration detention. Check out the following: 

  • Prison Free Funds database to find out if your 401 (k) has a prison-free option. 

  • Action toolkit to work with your colleagues to ask your plan administrators to offer investment options that avoid investing into ICE detention centers. 

Support Local MN Organizations and Resources 

Khudai Tanveer
Next

Muslims for Just Futures Condemns ICE Killing in MN, Attacks on Community Rapid Responders, and the Use of NSPM-7 to Justify State Violence