WASHINGTON — The January killings of two Minneapolis residents while protesting the federal immigration surge were thrust back into the national spotlight Tuesday when an eyewitness and a victim’s mother spoke to Democratic members of Congress on Capitol Hill.

Twin Cities resident Stella Carlson, known as the “pink jacket lady,” said she is still reeling after filming federal agents killing Alex Pretti on Jan. 24. Her recording disproved federal agents’ version of events and helped steer the national conversation about the surge.

And Donna Ganger, mother of the first Minnesotan killed by agents during Operation Metro Surge, Renee Good, said she voted for President Trump in 2024, but could only describe his immigration crackdown as “madness.”

“My daughter should still be alive,” Ganger said Tuesday at the hearing in Washington.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, ranking member of the Senate oversight committee, said he wanted the proceeding to be bipartisan, but no Republicans participated. Since the ouster of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem from her post and the appointment of Markwayne Mullin, Blumenthal said he’d hoped to see different tactics from federal immigration agents.

“We’re here essentially because nothing has changed,” Blumenthal said.

The event was not an official congressional proceeding. Democrats have staged a series of similar events on Capitol Hill since this spring to draw attention to the Trump administration’s efforts to round up, detain and deport undocumented immigrants.

These so-called shadow hearings have also shined a spotlight on people at the heart of Operation Metro Surge. The roughly six-week deployment of thousands of federal immigration agents to Minnesota lasted until mid-February, when border czar Tom Homan announced federal officers would largely be leaving Minnesota.

During her remarks, Carlson recounted turning onto Nicollet Avenue on the morning of Jan. 24 and not recognizing her own neighborhood as masked agents tackled protesters. Her eyes gravitated to Pretti, whom she’d soon witness get shot by federal agents.

“I watched Alex die,” Carlson said, speaking haltingly to hold back tears. “It all happened so fast.”

Carlson expressed shock that Noem characterized Pretti as a “domestic terrorist.” Noem later disputed she ever used those words to label Pretti.

Carlson said agents “ripped open” Pretti’s clothing as though they were about to provide aid, but ultimately left the body, leaving him “exposed and alone.”

“Alex laid in the street, abandoned,” Carlson said, “as if his life had no value.”

Earlier in the event, Good’s mother Ganger said she was a registered Republican who voted for President Trump.

But she described the immigration raids as “madness” and felt “helplessness” against a government bent on “disregard(ing) our country’s constitutional rules and values.”

“We have not moved on,” Ganger said of Good’s death. “We struggle every day.”

Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith said federal agents should not be protected by an “extraordinary standard.” She called for an investigation into abuse of power or criminal conduct.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment. Officers involved in the shootings have not yet faced any criminal investigation.

Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Democrat who represents Minneapolis, added that for many immigrants the revelation that Americans might be abused “in the hands of your own government” has been shattering.

On Sept. 16, Hennepin County officials announced they’d taken into custody former ICE agent Christian Castro, who’d been staying in Texas following the nonfatal shooting of a Venezuelan man in north Minneapolis in January. Castro is accused of lying about the incident to federal investigators.

Several government killings were covered in Tuesday’s hearing, including incidents involving individuals in Texas and Maine who federal immigration agents fatally shot in July.

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