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Nurses and community members gathered outside Kaiser Richmond Medical Center on Friday evening for a candlelight vigil honoring Alex Pretti, who was killed by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis, MN.
Pretti, a Veteran's Administration nurse, was killed during an ICE operation on January 24, 2026. National Nurses United has called for a week of action in his memory and is demanding that Congress immediately abolish ICE.
The demonstration drew local officials, community activists, and healthcare workers who condemned ICE tactics and warned of looming healthcare cuts under the current administration.
"When we see the death of fellow Americans, I'm getting some hope that the public is rising up," said Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia. "We know what's happening in this country is unacceptable. We know it's outrageous."
Gioia told the crowd that Contra Costa County could lose an estimated $300 million in health funding each year under a new House bill, potentially leaving tens of thousands without care. County officials are considering a ballot measure to offset the cuts.
Gioia also promoted the county's Stand Together program, a $4 million annual initiative through the Public Defender's Office that provides rapid response legal services to immigrants facing deportation. The program recently launched a mobile legal van to reach more communities.
The vigil comes as the Richmond City Council prepares to consider an "ICE Out" sanctuary policy at Tuesday's meeting, which would prohibit federal immigration agents from using city facilities.
On the agenda: cannabis relief, ICE-free zones and Craneway negotiations
Richmond’s City Council will consider measures on Tuesday to support struggling cannabis businesses and ban federal immigration enforcement from city property, discuss relocating the historic SS Red Oak Victory, and receive a presentation on corporate land acquisitions. The agenda also includes closed-session negotiations regarding the Craneway Pavilion, commission appointments,
Soren Hemmila
Richmond Mayor Eduardo Martinez condemned what he called "institutional murder."
"ICE is a Gestapo action that is murdering us and trying to power us with fear," Martinez said. "We can't let that happen, and the fact that we're out here standing shows that we are not afraid."
Martinez also called for redirecting money spent on incarceration to healthcare and nurses.
BK Williams of the Richmond Progressive Alliance, whose mother was a nurse, invoked the memory of Keith Porter, a Black man killed by ICE in Los Angeles on December 31.
"In the Black community, we've been looking at racism, state-sanctioned violence, all of our lives," Williams said. "We stand with you, we stand with the nurses, we stand with the immigrants, and we stand because we know it's the right thing to do."
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