On Tuesday evening, Torontonians gathered outside the US Consulate to hold a vigil for Alex Pretti, the 37-year-old ICU nurse fatally shot 10 times by ICE agents last weekend. They were there to mourn Pretti and all victims of the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown as well as to show support for protesters in Minneapolis who have taken to the streets to resist the agency’s killing, kidnapping and mass detainment of their neighbours. We asked vigil attendees about witnessing the atrocities from afar, why the horrors south of the border hit close to home and their messages for Donald Trump.
Claudia Calabro, 41, communications worker
You organized this vigil with a group of strangers from Reddit. Why?
I wanted to go to a vigil, and I didn’t see any happening, so I went online and saw that a few other people felt the same way. We came together quickly, within 48 hours, and put together this event. We’re all feeling extremely disturbed. But it’s important for us to experience that grief collectively, to push back against this violence and to show solidarity with our loved ones in the States.
How did you react to the video of Alex Pretti being shot?
I felt like puking. I didn’t know what I was seeing on my screen. Even now, I can just think of the image of him on the ground. And the murder of Alex Pretti is just the latest. I hate to say that I don’t think it will be the last. People have been dying in ICE custody too.
Is there anything you’d like to say to the protesters in Minneapolis?
We love you. We’re in awe of you. We’re taking lessons from you in strength and resilience. We should all be so lucky to have neighbours like you.
What would you like to see Canadian politicians do about this?
For starters, they could stop applauding the export of armoured vehicles that ICE is using. But I think Canadians should look at their own immigration policies as well. We don’t have ICE terrorizing us in the streets, but we do have a federal regime tightening refugee and immigration programs.
You helped organize this event. How did you hear about ICE agents’ killing of Alex Pretti?
I saw the video footage on CNN. I was in complete shock. He was just helping a woman who had been pepper-sprayed. They shot him ten times. It was sickening, brute force and a complete disregard for humanity.
What is your message to protesters in the streets of Minneapolis?
We are amazed by your strength. I’m so sorry that you are going through this. We have deep grief, but we are here with you in solidarity because you are fighting the good fight.
What do you think about the Brampton defence manufacturer being contracted to send 20 armoured vehicles to ICE?
It’s shameful to be complicit in what’s going on. But there’s footage of Doug Ford saying the deal was “fantastic.” He should look at the crowd gathered here, at the people mobilizing all over the world. We are not happy about innocent people being shot in the street.
How do you feel about the recent ICE killings?
I’m angry because this should not be happening and sad because it is. People should not be killed in the streets by their fellow citizens. They should not be randomly executed by what is effectively an occupying militia. Yet that is happening next door to us.
How do you think Canadian officials should respond to what’s going on with our neighbours?
First, stop arms sales to the United States. We’re seeing a Brampton company selling trucks to ICE. We saw the US subsidiary of Montreal-based security company, GardaWorld, contract armed agents to the ICE detention centre known as Alligator Alcatraz. Fascism depends on the private sector to do its bidding.
Second, we need to stop pretending that the United States is a safe country when videos out of Minneapolis look like a goddamn war zone. That means abolishing the Safe Third Country Agreement and designating the United States as an unsafe country for travel purposes. Canada needs to have a spine.
Any closing thoughts?
What’s happening in the United States cannot be taken in isolation. It’s part of a broader pattern of attacks on human rights and dignity all across the world—in Venezuela, in Iran, in Gaza. To the protesters: stand strong. You’re a ray of hope. To every single ICE agent: fuck you. And to Trump: there’s going to be a lot of folks cracking champagne bottles on the day you leave this planet.
Peter Lambert, 59, retired urban planner
You’re from the US. What went through your head when you heard the news of another ICE shooting in your home country?
Not again. I was heartbroken—even more so when I saw the video because it was so inhumane. I came to Canada permanently two years ago, and I feel lucky that I got out. I’d rather be here than there. But it’s my country, and it’s people I know, and they’re all very upset.
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What would you like to say to your fellow Americans?
When ICE fires upon a crowd, what will people do then? As heartbreaking and terrible as that would be, I feel it’s coming. So we have to be ready to respond when that happens.
Wednesday Bell, 33, receptionist
How did you feel when you heard that ICE agents had killed Alex Pretti?
Shocked but not surprised considering that they have done this before. They did it to Renee Nicole Good. They did it to Keith Porter Jr. They have done it to so many people in ICE detention centres.
What stance would you like the Canadian government to take?
We’ve heard no explicit statement from Mark Carney about what happened in Minnesota this weekend. I would like to see a much stronger stance from the Canadian government in opposition to all of this.
What do you think about a Brampton defence manufacturer being contracted to send ICE 20 armoured vehicles?
It’s despicable. I think deals like that should be blocked in any way possible.
Hannah Schermann, 29, student
How did you feel when you heard another person was shot and killed by ICE?
I wasn’t surprised, unfortunately, because more people have been killed than just Alex Pretti. As a Hispanic woman, it’s tragic to me that it’s taken a white man being killed for there to be this much outcry. But it’s important for us to show up and talk about him. I also think about Liam Conejo Ramos, the five-year-old boy detained by ICE in Minneapolis. Witnesses claim he was used as bait to lure his pregnant mother from their home, and she had to make a horrible decision not to open the door because she had other children to worry about.
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Any strong words for Trump?
You’re a sad old man who is deteriorating fast. I’m also disgusted by the women surrounding him, like Karoline Leavitt and Kristi Noem, for choosing the side of the men who have taken our rights away.
These interviews have been edited for length and clarity.
