The killing of American Alex Pretti in Minneapolis should be a wakeup call for all Americans.
That's what Barack and Michelle Obama think.
The former US president and his wife write in a statement that American values are under attack.
"The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call for all Americans - regardless of party - that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under attack," the statement, which was shared on Instagram, said.
Obama: Authorities are breaking the law
Barack Obama believes that immigration authorities are carrying out their work illegally in the state of Minnesota, where Minneapolis is located, and that there are apparently no consequences for them.
According to Obama, Americans need to wake up to this.
It was Saturday morning local time that border police shot and killed 37-year-old Alex Pretti on the street in Minneapolis.
Border Patrol cooperates with the immigration agency ICE to carry out arrests of people whom the federal government wants to deport.
But in Minnesota, as well as elsewhere in the United States, federal authorities are being accused of using particularly heavy-handed methods.
This has led to large demonstrations in Minneapolis, among other places.
- The president seems eager to escalate
Here, even more people began to take to the streets after an ICE officer shot and killed Renee Good, a 37-year-old American woman, in Minneapolis in early January.
Everyone should support and be inspired by the Americans who are peacefully demonstrating, write Barack and Michelle Obama.
They also criticize the current government, led by President Donald Trump.
- Rather than trying to impose some form of discipline and accountability on the agents they have sent out, the president and current officials seem eager to escalate the situation.
- At the same time, they are giving the public explanations for the shootings of Mr. Pretti and Renee Good that are not based on any serious investigation - and that appear to be in direct conflict with video footage.
Clinton: Trump administration has lied
The Obama couple further writes that they hope that the killing of Alex Pretti will cause the government to reconsider their approach.
Former Democratic President Bill Clinton believes that Trump administration officials have lied to Americans about the deadly shootings in Minneapolis.
"It is up to all of us who believe in the promise of American democracy to stand up and speak out," Clinton said, according to the AFP news agency.
/ritzau/
