"I can't help but see myself in Alex Pretti," Scott Mechanic, an intensive care unit nurse at University of Chicago Medical Center, told a crowd of caregivers, veterans and union members Tuesday afternoon.Standing before a memorial of photos and flowers honoring slain nurse Alex Pretti, the speakers said it could have been any of them who was killed in his place. White roses handed out Tuesday to those attending a rally for Alex Pretti were placed in a makeshift memorial at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center.Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times “I see myself, too, in the many community members in the neighborhood where I live, who have been abducted by ICE. I see myself in the millions of people across the world who are affected, whose lives have been diminished, whose lives have been cut short by our unjust and racist immigration system," Mechanic said. Dozens gathered to mourn Pretti, 37, who was shot to death Saturday by a Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis. Pretti, a U.S. citizen born in northwest suburban Streamwood, worked as an ICU nurse for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. He was the third person shot in Minnesota by federal agents this month. Pretti was shot a mile from where Renee Macklin Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen, was killed by an ICE agent Jan. 7. Another man, Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis of Venezuela, was shot in his leg Jan. 15.The crowd filled the corner of Damen Avenue and Taylor Street outside the Jesse Brown Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center on the Near West Side during the lunch hour, listening as faith leaders, caregivers and union members called for accountability for Pretti. Passing cars honked their horns in support as protesters chanted for justice. President Donald Trump has relieved Gregory Bovino, commander-at-large of the U.S. Border Patrol, of his duties in Minneapolis and sent border czar Tom Homan into the city to oversee immigration operations there in the wake of Alex Pretti’s death.Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times "They are killing VA employees. Let that sink in," said Aimee Potter, a federal health worker and union steward with the American Federation of Government Employees. "An injury to one is an injury to all, and this hurts. This could be any of us."In the aftermath of Pretti's death, the Trump administration has faced mounting outrage as anti-ICE protesters across the country take to the streets demanding justice. In response, Gregory Bovino, commander of the U.S. Border Patrol, was expected to leave Minneapolis Tuesday after being replaced by border czar Tom Homan."Anyone who works in health care understands intimately that nurses must be experts in de-escalation of potentially violent situations. This is, unfortunately, part of our jobs on the front line as health care workers," said Nicolette Alberti, a resident physician at the University of Illinois Hospital.Alberti said health care workers are trained extensively to de-escalate situations in an effort to protect themselves and their patients. "ICE didn't afford Alex that luxury," she said.The federal agents, she said, are not trained to de-escalate. Instead, Alberti said, they are trained to terrorize communities and create dangerous work environments."This is nothing short of a public health crisis," Alberti told the crowd as she listed off the names of those killed by federal immigration agents over the last year.Mechanic, who said he has been to the Southern border, said the recent violence has been going on for many years. But now, he said the tide seems to be turning."This is a call to every health care worker, to every union member, to every American, to continue these acts of bravery. To continue to confront ICE, to confront Border Patrol whenever they show up," Mechanic said. "We will not stop until ICE is abolished." ...read more read less