Americans woke up to another ugly chapter in the frenzy around President Trump’s immigration crackdown when a 37-year-old ICU nurse, Alex Pretti, was shot and killed during a federal operation in Minneapolis on January 24. Federal officials say agents fired in self-defense while conducting a targeted enforcement action, a development that has sent the city into protests and prompted the governor to move the National Guard into place.
Video from the scene and eyewitness accounts have cast serious doubt on the administration’s initial narrative, showing a chaotic confrontation in which Pretti appeared to be holding a phone, not a gun, as agents wrestled him to the pavement. The footage has fueled outrage from residents and family members who insist their loved one was trying to protect someone, not start a firefight, and those discrepancies cannot be swept aside by press conferences alone.
This is not a moment for reflexive partisan bluster on either side; it is a moment for facts, transparency, and accountability. Pretti’s grieving family and colleagues remember him as a compassionate VA nurse who served veterans and had no serious criminal history, a reality that makes the questions about what happened that morning all the more urgent.
On his new show The Big Take, Ed Henry made the right call for conservatives: we can enforce our immigration laws without capitulating to lawlessness, but we must also insist that federal officers operate under clear rules and that any use of lethal force be fully and transparently investigated. Conservatives should stand for the rule of law — and that means supporting lawful enforcement operations while demanding accountability when citizens are killed in controversial circumstances.
The political left, driven by outraged headlines and showboating officials, wants to make this into a referendum on immigration enforcement rather than an honest investigation into conflicting accounts. Independent fact-checkers and reporters note the gap between official statements and open-source video evidence, which is why a thorough, impartial probe is necessary before anyone rushes to judgement or tears down institutions that keep our communities safe.
Hardworking Americans know the truth in their bones: a nation without borders is not a nation, but neither is a nation that excuses inexplicable violence by those sworn to enforce the law. Conservatives should push for better rules of engagement, stronger oversight of federal operations, and swift transparency — while never surrendering to the chaos that comes from open borders and soft-on-crime policies. Now is the time to defend our laws, demand answers, and stand with both the rule of law and the rights of the innocent.
