A candlelight vigil to remember two people shot and killed by federal immigration agents drew around 200 people to downtown Forest Grove Sunday evening.
Those gathered sang songs, held candles, and were led in protest chants in front of the Forest Grove City Library from the corner of Pacific Avenue and Birch Street, stretching about two-thirds of the way down the block.
Bystander videos show Alex Pretti, killed by federal agents in Minneapolis on Saturday, with a phone in his hand. No videos appear to show him with a visible weapon, the Associated Press reported.
It was the second shooting in the city, after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot and killed Renee Good.
'We want ICE gone from our communities'
"I am grateful and moved by the compassion demonstrated by our community members who showed up tonight to quietly mourn the tragic deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good," said Indivisible Forest Grove spokesperson Beth Genly. The group organized the vigil.
"ICE’s kidnappings and violence are unacceptable violations of our constitutional rights, and are deeply immoral. Our neighbors' fear and suffering here at home due to ICE cruelty is traumatizing to children especially, and to entire families. We want ICE gone from our communities," she added.
Chris Armstrong, a Hillsboro resident who joined the vigil, said he was there over the violence in Minnesota and because he believed that constitutional rights were at risk.
Around 200 people joined a vigil for Alex Pretti Renee Good in Forest Grove on Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. Photos: Chas Hundley
"The Constitutional rights of Americans I think are at risk and I'm trying to show solidarity with the community on these matters," he said.
State Sen. Janeen Sollman, representing Forest Grove, Cornelius, Hillsboro and Rock Creek, joined the vigil.
She described what happened in Minnesota as "soul crushing."
"I saw a sign on I-84, and it said "Your silence will not protect you," Sollman said. "What I think it means is, if you're silent, it doesn't mean that nothing is going to come back to you and affect your area. It only grows," she said.
"It's time to speak up, it's time to voice our concern," the senator added.
Sollman said that legislators have met to discuss legislation concerning federal immigration enforcement in Oregon at the upcoming short legislative session beginning in Salem on Feb. 2.
"I was just invited by the governor to come to a small table gathering," Sollman said. "We came together to talk about immigration impacts in the different communities, and then legislators shared the different bills that they're bringing forward," she said.
In a press release issued Monday morning, Gov. Tina Kotek said that she and first lady Aimee Kotek Wilson met with legislators and community leaders Saturday.
“Oregon is home to more than 400,000 immigrants, who make up 13 percent of our labor force. They are our friends, neighbors, and the parents of children in our classrooms,” Kotek said. “We must all come together through stronger coordination between community partners and state agencies to reduce fear and ensure families get the support they need.”
Looking up and down the crowd lining Pacific Avenue on Sunday night, Sollman described the gathering as "amazing."
"I'm so proud of Forest Grove. I'm so proud," she said.
