ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Center for Victims of Torture (CVT) issued this statement after the deadly shooting of Alex Pretti by U.S. Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis on Saturday.

“Executions in the streets. Abductions by masked security forces at gunpoint. Mass detention in an abusive and unaccountable system. Disinformation campaigns to justify it all. These are the tools and tactics of the world’s most repressive regimes. At CVT, we hear about them over and over from refugees and asylum seekers who fled their countries in search of safety in the United States, hoping someday to heal from the horrors they’ve endured. Now those same tools and tactics are being deployed on the streets of Minneapolis. Nobody is safe—not immigrants, not U.S. citizens, not children, not veterans, not clergy. Nobody. Terror is the point.

“This is what a widespread assault on fundamental human rights looks like. It’s going to take a widespread human rights movement to stop it. That means not just courageous peaceful protesters, but also a U.S. Congress that refuses to fund ICE, courts willing to hold perpetrators accountable, business leaders who demand that ICE leave their cities, and more. Whether to stand up and say ENOUGH isn’t a choice about politics. It’s about ending up on the right, or wrong, side of history.” -Scott Roehm, senior director of global justice and accountability

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The Center for Victims of Torture is a nonprofit organization with offices in Ethiopia, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Mexico, Uganda, United States and additional project sites around the world. Visit www.cvt.org.