Like so many others in the public health community, we have watched in horror and grief as federal agents unleash violence in Minneapolis and around the US. We have witnessed unchecked actions of immigration enforcement that are ripping families apart and forcing communities to live in terror. Over the past year, they have also claimed the lives of Geraldo Lunas Campos, Luis Gustavo Nunez Caceres, Luis Beltran Yanez–Cruz, Parady La, and most recently in Minnesota, Reneé Good and Alex Pretti. These events fundamentally undermine public health and safety in the United States.
As a community of health leaders, we cannot stay silent when the systems meant to protect us become agents of violence. We see these actions through a clear health lens, and the diagnosis is dire.
State violence is a public health crisis. The escalating aggression of ICE and federal agents is creating a climate of fear that endangers us all. When people are afraid to leave their homes or seek medical care for fear of being detained, they do not seek necessary medical treatment. But the damage extends further: Fear is keeping children out of schools and preventing adults from going to work, costing them their education and livelihoods. It’s forcing families to retreat from public life entirely, avoiding essential services and withdrawing from local economy. These social determinants are the foundation of well-being. By severing these lifelines, we are not just forcing marginalized communities further into the shadows, but inflicting long-term damage on collective health outcomes.
We are witnessing the expansion of detention centers that are notorious for overcrowding, neglect, and a lack of basic sanitation — conditions that are incubators for disease and pose a severe threat to both detainees and the broader public. Furthermore, this violence has now claimed the life of a healthcare worker. Alex Pretti served his country as an ICU nurse at a Veterans Affairs Hospital. To kill a healer is to attack the very infrastructure of care that keeps our society functioning.
Beyond the physical violence, we are alarmed by the Administration’s dangerous attempts to distort reality. By discrediting eyewitness accounts and contradicting video evidence to fit a political narrative, the Administration is eroding trust in our institutions. Public health relies on truth, transparency, and data. When leaders rewrite history to justify violence, they dismantle the trust necessary to keep communities safe.
No one is safe when our neighbors are targeted. Security does not come from tear gas, raids, or the separation of families; it comes from accountability. True leadership requires answering to the people you serve, yet we are currently witnessing aggressive policies enforced with total impunity. In contrast, the Minneapolis community is showing us what it means to be accountable to one another. Neighbors are organizing mutual aid to deliver food and medicine to those afraid to leave their homes. Parents and teachers are forming patrols to ensure children get to school safely. And businesses are closing their doors in solidarity.
GHC remains steadfast in our support of leaders who advocate for the most vulnerable. We stand with the families of Renée Good, Alex Pretti, and those who have died at the hands of ICE, and we stand with every community currently living in fear. We will continue to cultivate leaders who understand that compassion is a strength, that diversity is our greatest asset, and that health equity cannot exist without racial and migrant justice.
To support frontline organizations, food relief, community aid, and families impacted by ICE’s raids, please visit: https://linktr.ee/mplsmutualaid