Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa NZNO has expressed disgust at the shooting and killing of nurse Alex Pretti on a Minneapolis, US street on Saturday morning by federal officers.
Kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku says the organisation is increasingly concerned at the callous and aggressive attacks on its own people by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the US.
"It seems that nobody is safe, and when health workers are losing their lives on the street it is gravely concerning," Kerri Nuku says.
NZNO extends solidarity with health workers everywhere and the organisation stands with all peoples aspiring for freedom from an oppressive system and unprovoked attacks, she said.
Alex Pretti was an ICU nurse working for the Veterans Health Administration in Minneapolis.
"Nurses are always at the forefront of ensuring the safety and well-being of their communities. We are appalled that health workers and communities in general in the US live in constant fear of being indiscriminately harassed, assaulted and even killed.
"Nurses in particular are carers and protectors. Alex was an ICU nurse so cared for patients when they were at their most vulnerable."
She said the thoughts and sympathy of NZNO lay with Alex Pretti’s family.
"We are calling for an immediate stop to ICE’s aggressive and murderous tactics in the US."