A historic Minneapolis church has transformed into an emergency refuge center following the fatal shooting of intensive care nurse Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents—the second such incident involving U.S. citizens in less than a month. Calvary Baptist Church, situated mere blocks from Saturday’s confrontation, opened its doors Sunday to provide warmth, sustenance, and solace to a community gripped by tension and grief.
Volunteers distributed coffee, snacks, and hand warmers to visitors ranging from mourners heading to Pretti’s memorial to protesters returning from demonstrations against the weeks-long Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation. Church administrator Dean Caldwell-Tautges characterized the outreach as “the Christian thing to do” while distributing whistles used to alert residents to ICE activity.
The shooting has intensified national scrutiny on President Trump’s immigration crackdown, which deployed thousands of agents to the Democrat-held state in December. While the administration defends the operation as a public safety measure targeting criminal migrants, critics cite detentions of non-criminal immigrants and U.S. citizens. The Department of Homeland Security claims agents acted in self-defense against an armed Pretti, but eyewitnesses and family members assert he was holding a phone, not a weapon.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has demanded immediate withdrawal of federal agents, stating: “We believe that Trump needs to pull his 3,000 untrained agents out of Minnesota before they kill another American in the street.” The president praised agents’ “phenomenal job” in a Wall Street Journal interview while hinting at an eventual withdrawal without specifying timelines.
Sunday saw hundreds gather for impromptu protests where chants of “No more Minnesota nice, Minneapolis will strike” echoed through downtown. Demonstrators included first-time protester Felix Johnson, who expressed disbelief at citizens being “snatched like animals,” and military veterans holding signs proclaiming “Veterans Against ICE.” Despite local opposition, national polls indicate approximately half of voters support Trump’s deportation efforts, though opinions are divided on implementation methods.