SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
For Immediate Release
August, 26 2009, 08:59am EDT
Contact:
Marcus Mrowka, 202-730-7759
Mark McCullough, 202-730-7283
SEIU: Continue to Honor Kennedy Legacy, Pass Healthcare Reform
WASHINGTON
Today, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) released the following statement by SEIU President Andy Stern on the passing of Senator Edward M. Kennedy:
"In Senator Kennedy's vision of America, every family has access to affordable healthcare, every worker has a paycheck that supports their family and a secure retirement, every child has a right to a quality education, and every immigrant can achieve the American Dream.
"Senator Kennedy spent his entire adult life, through tragedy and triumph, in pursuit of this America. From his first major speech in support of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to his last vote on President Obama's economic recovery plan, his vision of a more perfect nation never wavered.
"Because of Senator Kennedy, millions of children have access to healthcare, crucial immunizations, Head Start programs, and grants and loans to make college more affordable. Unemployed workers have access to COBRA and low-income mothers are able to get food, healthcare and other resources for themselves and their children. People with disabilities are treated with respect and dignity and workers are protected by an adequate minimum wage.
"Senator Kennedy's America is our America. It is the America of the nurse in Pittsburgh, the janitor in Miami, and the child care provider in Maine. It is the America that SEIU members continue to fight for. And Senator Kennedy stood beside us in that fight longer than anyone else.
"Senator Kennedy stood with SEIU members on countless picket lines and contract negotiations. He stood with millions of hardworking immigrants and SEIU members to call for comprehensive immigration reform in 2005. He stood with workers fighting for a voice on the job by championing the Employee Free Choice Act. And until his final days he stood with SEIU healthcare workers and other workers to win access to affordable healthcare for all Americans.
"Thirty nine years ago, Senator Kennedy introduced his first bill to overhaul our nation's broken healthcare system and provide affordable coverage to all Americans. We stand closer now than ever before to achieving what Senator Kennedy called the cause of his life.
"Let us continue his cause. Let us take action this year to pass healthcare reform. And let us continue to build Kennedy's vision of America."
With 2 million members in Canada, the United States and Puerto Rico, SEIU is the fastest-growing union in the Americas. Focused on uniting workers in healthcare, public services and property services, SEIU members are winning better wages, healthcare and more secure jobs for our communities, while uniting their strength with their counterparts around the world to help ensure that workers--not just corporations and CEOs--benefit from today's global economy.
LATEST NEWS
'Moral and Political Debacle': Right-Wing Media, CEOs Urge Trump to Stop Deadly ICE Crackdown
"The American people didn’t vote for these scenes and you can’t continue to order them to not believe their lying eyes,” the New York Post editorial board wrote.
Jan 26, 2026
"The Trump administration spin on this simply isn’t believable."
That's what the editorial board of the right-wing Wall Street Journal wrote Sunday calling for a "pause" in Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) anti-immigrant blitz following Saturday's killing of 37-year-old intensive care nurse Alex Petti—who was disarmed before being shot by federal agents in Minneapolis—and top administration officials' claims that the man who helped save US military veterans' lives was a "domestic terrorist."
The Journal's editors called Pretti's killing “the worst incident to date in what is becoming a moral and political debacle” for President Donald Trump and his administration.
The Journal wasn't alone. Other right-wing outlets owned by the Murdoch media empire, including the New York Post, published editorials calling for a suspension of Trump's crackdown on undocumented immigrants, during which dozens of people have died in ICE custody and federal enforcers have killed two Americans. Even staunchly pro-Trump Fox News challenged administration officials over the shooting.
"It's time to de-escalate in Minneapolis, Mr. President," the Post's editorial board wrote Sunday.
"Not because you’re wrong to enforce immigration law, nor to go after fraudsters who’ve stolen billions in federal funds—but because these enforcement tactics won’t turn the tide, and instead are backfiring," the editors clarified. "Swing voters—Hispanics and independents who turned to you at the last election—see US citizens dying at federal agents’ hands, and recoil in horror."
"The hasty and misleading rhetoric coming out of the administration needs to stop," the Post said. "And while Pretti was horribly misguided, there is no evidence he was a 'terrorist' intent on a 'massacre' of law enforcement."
As they did with Renee Good, the 37-year-old mother and poet who was shot dead by an ICE agent in Minneapolis earlier this month, Trump and some of his senior officials accused Pretti of being a "domestic terrorist"—a move in line with the administration's designation of left-wing activism as terrorism.
US Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino said that it looked like Pretti—who eyewitnesses said died while trying to help a woman who had been pepper-sprayed by ICE—“wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement."
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller attempted to smear Pretti as an "assassin" who "tried to murder federal agents."
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem accused Pretti of "domestic terrorism."
As the Wall Street Journal's editors put it, "Alex Pretti made a mistake, but he wasn’t a ‘domestic terrorist.'"
"Videos of an event aren’t always definitive, but this is how it looks to us," they wrote. "Pretti attempted, foolishly, to assist a woman who had been pepper-sprayed by agents. Multiple agents then tackled Pretti, and he had a phone in one hand as he lay on the ground. An agent discovered a concealed gun on Pretti, and disarmed him. An agent then shot Pretti, and multiple shots followed."
The Post editors concluded, "Mr. President, the American people didn’t vote for these scenes, and you can’t continue to order them to not believe their lying eyes."
Meanwhile, more than 60 CEOs of Minnesota-based companies including Target, Best Buy, UnitedHealth, 3M, and General Mills published an open letter Sunday calling for "an immediate deescalation of tensions and for state, local, and federal officials to work together to find real solutions."
Gun rights groups including the National Rifle Association have called for a full investigation of Pretti's killing. The NRA pushed back against arguments that Pretti should not have brought a gun—which he was legally carrying—to a protest, calling such assertions "dangerous and wrong."
"Responsible public voices should be awaiting a full investigation, not making generalizations and demonizing law-abiding citizens," added the NRA, which was criticized for its initial silence following the killing of Philando Castile, a Black man who was legally carrying a gun when he was shot dead by police in front of his girlfriend and her 4-year-old daughter during a 2016 traffic stop in suburban Minneapolis.
Even Republican lawmakers who support Trump have expressed their dismay over Pretti's killing, with Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana calling the incident "incredibly disturbing."
Chris Madel, an attorney who provided legal counsel to Jonathan Ross—the ICE agent who killed Good—was, until Monday, also a Republican candidate for Minnesota governor. However, Madel said that he dropped out of the race and implied that he would quit the GOP because he “cannot support the national Republicans’ stated retribution on the citizens of our state."
“Nor can I count myself a member of a party that would do so," he said.
I am ending my campaign for Minnesota Governor. I describe why in the below video. Please watch until the end. (It is 10 minutes, 52 seconds.)
Thank you,
Chris pic.twitter.com/2nfyAyTzNZ
— Chris Madel (@CWMadel) January 26, 2026
" United States citizens, particularly those of color, live in fear," Madel continued. "United States citizens are carrying papers to prove their citizenship. That’s wrong."
“At the end of the day, I have to look my daughters in the eye and tell them I believe I did what is right," he added. "I am doing that today."
Keep ReadingShow Less
One of the Few House Democrats Who Voted With Republicans to Fund DHS Says 'I Failed'
"I hear the anger from many of my constituents, and I take responsibility for that," said Rep. Tom Suozzi.
Jan 26, 2026
One of the seven Democrats who voted with nearly all Republicans in the House of Representatives to pass a multibillion-dollar Department of Homeland Security funding bill last week expressed remorse after DHS killed another US citizen in Minnesota.
"I failed to view the DHS funding vote as a referendum on the illegal and immoral conduct of ICE in Minneapolis," Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) said Monday, referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has conducted President Donald Trump's mass deportation operations alongside Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
"I hear the anger from many of my constituents, and I take responsibility for that. I have long been critical of ICE's unlawful behavior, and I must do a better job demonstrating that," Suozzi continued.
"The senseless and tragic murder of Alex Pretti underscores what happens when untrained federal agents operate without accountability," the congressman added. "President Trump must immediately end 'Operation Metro Surge' and ICE's occupation of Minneapolis that has sown chaos, led to tragedy, and undermined experienced local law enforcement."
"IT'S WORKING: Keep the pressure on both Republicans and Democrats."
Since CBP fatally shot Pretti, a legal observer and nurse, on Saturday, pressure has mounted for the Senate to reject the funding bill—part of a larger package Congress is trying to pass to prevent a government shutdown at the end of the month.
Suozzi sent the "stunning" statement in an email to his campaign list, according to New York Times reporter Michael Gold, who shared a screenshot on social media, where the congressman's comments were met with mixed reactions.
Yuh-Line Niou, a former Democratic New York state legislator, said: "Too little too late. Voting with Republicans is his specialty, and this is something his constituents should not forget this election."
Suozzi represents New York's 3rd Congressional District on Long Island and does not have a primary challenger for the June election.
Noting that "Long Island was a major site for immigration backlash" under former President Joe Biden, "when asylum-seekers were overwhelming NYC area services," Vox editor Benjy Sarlin said Monday that "politics clearly shifting there."
Gun violence prevention activist Shannon Watts declared, "IT'S WORKING: Keep the pressure on both Republicans and Democrats."
The account Dear White Staffers, known for calling out bad behavior on Capitol Hill, urged, "Keep yelling at your representatives!"
Human Rights Campaign national press secretary Brandon Wolf predicted that "he'll have a chance to prove his contrition when the Senate sends the bill back and the House has to vote on it again."
As Bloomberg reporter Jonathan put it, "even the centrist Dems are gone on ICE," with senators who voted to end the fall shutdown "now refusing to fund DHS" while House Democrats who just voted for the department funding bill issue a range of statements, including some calling for the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
The other six Democrats who voted for the DHS bill last Thursday are Reps. Henry Cuellar (Texas), Don Davis (NC), Laura Gillen (NY), Jared Golden (Maine), Vicente Gonzalez (Texas), and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Wash.).
After Pretti's killing on Saturday, Davis shared his condolences on social media and said in part that "our immigration laws can and must be enforced with respect for life and dignity. A thorough, independent investigation into this fatal shooting is essential to uncover the full facts and to ensure accountability can be determined. The Trump administration must take immediate and decisive action to bring an end to this violence and disorder that have taken lives and undermined public trust."
Climate activist and former Democratic National Committee member RL Miller responded, "If only you were in a position to exercise some accountability over this rogue agency, say, for example, by voting on its budget."
Independent journalist Ken Klippenstein similarly called out Gillen and Gluesenkamp Perez; the former argued that Noem "must be impeached immediately" that while the latter said that she "needs to step down."
Klippenstein also took aim at Gonzalez, who on Saturday advocated for "an independent and thorough investigation into today’s murder of yet another US citizen," while also trying to justify his vote for a bill that would give billions of dollars to ICE and CBP.
"I continue to strongly oppose ICE's illegal operations in South Texas and around the country," Gonzalez said, framing his vote as one in favor of funding the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Coast Guard ahead of the winter storm that hit many states, including his, over the weekend. He doubled down on his position in a Monday video shared on social media.
Fellow Texan Cuellar, who is known for voting with Republicans and was infamously pardoned by Trump last month, and Golden, who is not seeking reelection this year, have both described Pretti's death "tragic" and urged independent investigations, without expressing any remorse about their votes last week.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Lifelong Gun Owner Graham Platner Fumes Over 2nd Amendment Hypocrisy of GOP After Pretti ‘Murder’
"This makes me shake with rage," said the Democratic US Senate candidate.
Jan 26, 2026
Democratic US Senate candidate Graham Platner on Monday called out Republicans who have long purported to support the right to carry firearms over their excuses for federal immigration agents gunning down Minneapolis resident Alex Pretti over the weekend.
In a video posted on social media, the Maine senatorial hopeful declared that on Saturday, "all of us witnessed, from multiple angles, federal agents murder Alex Pretti."
Platner then described his horror at watching "ghouls" in the Trump administration "tell us that what we saw with our own eyes is not what we saw."
I've been a gun owner my entire adult life.
The leaders of a political party that claims to care about the Second Amendment say that because Alex Pretti was carrying a firearm at a protest, he deserved to be executed. pic.twitter.com/Wd1aT2m2XY
— Graham Platner for Senate (@grahamformaine) January 26, 2026
Platner singled out statements by administration officials saying that Pretti, a nurse who worked at a hospital run by the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), put himself in danger because he brought a loaded firearm with him while working as a legal observer of federal immigration officials conducting operations in his community.
"I have been a gun owner my entire life," Platner said. "I shoot competitively, I carry on occasion, because it is my right as an American and my right as a Mainer. And to watch people in a party that for years has screamed about protecting the Second Amendment, to turn around and say that because this man had a holstered legal firearm, he deserved to be murdered by federal agents, is the height of hypocrisy!"
Platner then took a breath and said that the Trump administration's attempts to smear Pretti after he had been killed made him "incredibly angry."
"This is an ICU nurse at the VA who has dedicated his life to helping veterans and helping his community," he said. "And then he is killed protecting his neighbors, protecting people in his community. Murdered, shot down by the state, executed in the street. This makes me shake with rage."
Multiple Democratic lawmakers have expressed outrage since Pretti's killing on Sunday, and several Democrats, including some who represent swing districts, have called for the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in response.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular