Evanston searches for hope in the wake of an uptick in ICE violence

Communications first-year Solé Rogers said she watched a 10-second video of Alex Pretti being shot over 10 times in the chest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents before she realized what was happening.

“I didn’t have time to be shocked,” Rogers said. “When I watched the video, it just happened so fast. Seeing it is so different than reading it. It just gets worse and worse, and more people keep getting hurt.” 

Pretti, 37, was killed on Jan. 24 in Minnesota, three weeks after Renee Good, 37, was fatally shot by ICE agents on Jan. 7. Videos of the altercation spread on social media within the hour, showing Pretti standing between an agent and a woman who had been pushed to the ground. He was then pepper-sprayed, held down and shot multiple times.

“I am outraged, totally outraged,” Evanston resident Debbie Collings said. “I don’t know the man, I don’t know his family, but he was helping somebody. He was just trying to take care of her. And the agent shoots him. Just outright shoots him. Pretti wasn’t doing anything but trying to protect a woman.” 

Hearing the news of Pretti’s death was disheartening, but unsurprising for Evanston resident Erika Brekke.

“The unchecked violence has been tolerated, so, unfortunately, why wouldn’t it happen again? It’s horrifying and awful and disgusting,” she said. 

Just a few hours after an ICE agent fatally shot Good on Jan. 7, hundreds of Evanston residents held a vigil with “ICE OUT” signs in Fountain Square. Four days later, protesters lined the Unitarian Church of Evanston to honor Good and other lives lost for the “ICE Out For Good” protest. 

“I’m horrified, I’m scared, I’m outraged, I’m furious,” Evanston resident Jennifer Fisher said. “This is not the America that we’re supposed to be living in.” 

Good was shot by ICE agent Jonathan Ross in her car while protesting in Minneapolis. 

“I’ve tried to go to every protest I can here, and I fear it’s not enough,” Fisher said. “We’re playing by the rules. They aren’t. I’m not sure, but something has to change.” 

Students have also been voicing dissent, with protests at Evanston Township High School and Northwestern in the past week. However, Kellogg School of Management graduate student Tom Gonzalez said he wonders if the protests are effective without any ICE presence in Evanston. 

“It’s one thing to speak to power when power is present,” Gonzalez said. “It’s another thing when there’s nobody there.”

Despite participating in numerous protests himself, Gonzalez said he is beginning to lose hope for change.

“It feels like there’s this voice of dissonance and nothing is happening,” he said. “We keep trying to do something, and it just feels ineffective.”

Rogers said she prefers not to measure the success of a protest solely by change on the national level. The camaraderie and connection built from supporting each other are the most important reasons to speak out, Rogers said. 

“It’s not for nothing,” she said. “There is progress in some ways with these protests. There has to be. The only way we get through this is as a community, as one.” 

Evanston resident Marqualand Norris said the predominantly white population of Evanston makes speaking up the most important thing the city can do. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Evanston’s population is 60.9% white. 

“There are other places with higher concentrations of Latino people that are at greater risk,” Norris said. “Getting [Evanston] people to speak out, or at least even have it in their attention that these things are going on, is really helpful. Knowledge is power.”

Beyond protests, Evanston businesses are showcasing their dissent in other ways, closing down on Jan. 30 as part of a nationwide anti-ICE protest. 

“I got some emails from retailers who I’ve bought stuff from that say, ‘We are participating in this, our website is going to be down all day,’” Brekke said. 

In the long run, Fisher said the only way to create lasting change is through voting in the fall midterm elections. Kellogg graduate student Kimberly Winter was motivated to do just that after Good’s shooting. 

“I was very, very infuriated,” Winter said. “I hadn’t submitted my request for an absentee ballot yet, and that encouraged me to request it that day.” 

From vigils and protests to storefront signs and diaper drives, Fisher said Evanston residents take care of one another. “I’m thrilled to live where I live,” she said. “Evanston shows up for the people in our community.”