DOWNTOWN BOISE, Idaho — Over 1,000 protesters gathered outside Boise City Hall on Sunday, following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, a U.S. citizen and ICU nurse, by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis.
Neighbors in Boise joined protesters across the country calling for accountability in Pretti's death.
WATCH | Over a thousand neighbors gather at Boise City Hall—
"I wanna be an ICU nurse, and I just kind of saw a lot of myself in him, and I could see that could be me," protester Oscar Pena said. "As a Mexican person, as someone who came from a family of immigrants and a healthcare worker, like, this is just disgusting on so many levels."
Morrighan Nyx, an organizer with the Party for Socialism and Liberation, said the demonstration drew inspiration from the economic strike held in Minneapolis.
"In a day of action where there was no school, no shopping, no work, and hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans poured into the streets of Minneapolis to demand ICE out of their communities and justice for their immigrant neighbors," Nyx said.
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The rally remained peaceful, and at least one counter-protester was spotted in attendance.
Demonstrator Patrick Forrest said Pretti's death prompted him to leave his longtime political party and contact Idaho lawmakers.
"I've never called my congressman before, and I did. I called them all," Forrest said. "I had to leave the Republican Party, which I'm a veteran. I was part of the party forever. I'm done. I'm done. I cannot do this. This is not right. What's happening to our citizens and people who are here."
Some protesters said their concerns are not with immigration enforcement itself, but with how it is carried out.
"It's not that we wanna get rid of ICE totally, it's necessary to control our immigration, but the tactics that they are using are out of bounds with the rule of law," protester Rachel Hugens said.
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Protesters said they want lawmakers to reconsider funding for ICE.
"I believe Idaho cares strongly about budgets and money, and so I feel like this is something we should be aligned on that dumping money into an inhumane and cruel organization like ICE is not where we want our money to go," protester Nicole Owen said.
In a statement, Idaho Democratic Party Chair Lauren Necochea said, “Alex Pretti should be alive today, but he was killed by federal agents in Minneapolis. Idahoans believe in limits on government power because history shows what happens without them. What we are witnessing is federal lawlessness.”
The protest ended with a march around downtown.
Idaho 50501 has created a petition to cut Idaho's ties with DHS and ICE.
