When I saw the cellphone videos of U.S. Border Patrol agents executing Alex Pretti on a snowy street in Minneapolis, the shameless brutality of the shooting reminded me of another execution 58 years earlier on a war-torn street in Saigon….
When civil rights protesters are killed, some deaths – generally those of white people – resonate more
Renee Good and Alex Pretti, two white Minneapolis residents killed in January 2026 by federal agents while protesting the Trump administration’s immigration policy, have become household names. National media outlets continue to focus on their deaths and the circumstances around them.
Peace ain’t what it’s cracked up to be
This past Jan. 15 — ironically, on the actual birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. — the 2025 Nobel laureate for peace, Maria Corina Machado, took her prize medal, encased in a gold (of course) and glass frame, to the…
‘Which Side Are You On?’: American protest songs have emboldened social movements for generations, from coal country to Minneapolis
The presence of Department of Homeland Security agents in Minnesota compelled many people there to use songs as a means of protest. Those songs were from secular as well as religious traditions.
Everyone has a part to play in the fight against ICE
I was in Minneapolis the week Alex Pretti was shot more than 10 times by Customs and Border Patrol Agents. I originally went to Minneapolis to write about the aftermath of Renee Good’s murder by an ICE agent. As I…
Clergy protests against ICE turned to a classic – and powerful – American playlist
On Jan. 28, 2026, Bruce Springsteen released “Streets of Minneapolis,” a hard-hitting protest against the immigration enforcement surge in the city, including the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
Franklin Graham blames Renee Good, urges prayer for Trump team
America needs to repent of its sin and pray for Donald Trump and Kristi Noem and Pete Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard, according to evangelist Franklin Graham. In a Jan. 14 interview on CBN, Graham issued the national call to prayer…
Catholics must decide if they serve Donald Trump or the Gospel
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus famously proclaimed, “No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other.”
As anger mounts, ICE director called to court appearance Friday
The chief federal judge in Minnesota is fed up with the Trump administration’s persistent violation of court orders and the rights of detainees amid increasingly aggressive immigration enforcement actions. As a result, Judge Patrick J. Schiltz has ordered the acting…
Widening Fifth Avenue
I asked my recently retired Department of Transportation friend how roads get widened. His answer was unsurprising: It happens because of increases in volume and planning for future traffic patterns. I asked because it sounds unthinkable — not to mention…
Why do people deny the evidence before their eyes?
“The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.” Over the last week, in the wake of Renee Good’s murder by ICE agent Jonathan Ross in Minneapolis, this quote…
Let’s talk about how Cities Church treats women
“David Easterwood is a pastor here. He is also the director of the Field Office for ICE in St. Paul. So someone who claims to worship God, teaching people in this church about God, is out there overseeing ICE agents,”…