Celebrities call for action against ICE raids

LOS ANGELES:

Celebrities ranging from movie stars to pop singers are speaking out and calling for action against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids after two Americans were shot dead by federal agents in Minneapolis.

From red-carpet premieres to social media platforms, the usually politics-averse celebrity crowd has been swept into the debate following the shooting death of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse, on Saturday.

In their appeals for action the celebrities expressed their opposition to President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown.

Pedro Pascal, the Chilean-American actor shared a series of posts on Instagram, calling for a national strike to protest the killings and demanding greater transparency from the federal government over the actions of ICE agents.

"Truth is a line of demarcation between a democratic government and an authoritarian regime," Pascal wrote, as he paid tribute to Pretti and another US citizen killed in Minneapolis this month, 37-year-old Renee Good. "The American people deserve to know what happened," he added. Oscar-winning actress Jamie Lee Curtis also joined calls for national protests against ICE raids. "THESE WERE AMERICANS! SHOT BY OUR GOVERNMENT!" she wrote in a post, accompanied by drawings of Pretti's and Good's faces. On Tuesday, she shared a photograph of Minneapolis, captioning it: "I BELIEVE IN US!"

Martha Stewart, the businesswoman behind a domestic goods empire said she was encouraged by her 14-year-old granddaughter to speak out. "I am disheartened and sad each and every day... that we are told immigrants, which most of us are or are descended from, are unwelcome,"

The 84-year-old Stewart took to on Instagram, expressing anger that "we cannot show our frustration in peaceful demonstrations and that we can be attacked and even killed by federal troops".

'Firework' singer Katy Perry urged her American followers to contact their elected representatives in the US Senate and pressure ICE through budget oversight. "Turn anger into action," the 41-year-old singer wrote in an Instagram story.

'Scandal' actress Kerry Washington posted a video to her 7.6 million Instagram followers, explaining step by step how to call elected representatives and demand that funding for ICE be blocked.

"You are not powerless over what's happening in Minnesota," she said. "There is something you can do about it right now." Washington then demonstrated calling her representative's office in California on camera.

Billie Eilish, the 24-year-old singer-songwriter called on fellow celebrities to speak out over Pretti's death.