'ICE is going too far': Sam Altman, Jamie Dimon, and more CEOs on the unrest in Minnesota

CEOs are starting to speak out after federal immigration agents shot and killed 37-year-old Alex Pretti, a veterans' nurse, on Saturday in Minneapolis.

The city, which was the epicenter of the racial justice protests in 2020 after police there murdered George Floyd, is once again engulfed by protest — this time over the Trump administration's ongoing immigration raids.

Pretti was killed after attempting to film masked agents from U.S. Customs and Border Patrol as they were reportedly detaining someone. He was the second U.S. citizen killed by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis this month, following the death of Renee Good. At least six people have died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.) detention centers so far in 2026, while 32 people died in the federal agency's custody last year.

Business leaders have veered sycophantic and largely sidestepped political conflict over the past year to avoid clashing with President Donald Trump. Just hours after Pretti was killed, Apple $AAPL CEO Tim Cook and AMD CEO Lisa Su were at the White House for a screening of the Amazon $AMZN-funded documentary about First Lady Melania Trump.

However, some CEOs have started to address the Trump administration's deadly immigration raids and detentions following Pretti’s death.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told employees he believes federal immigration agents are "going too far," calling out I.C.E. specifically.

According to the New York Times’ DealBook, Altman said in an internal Slack $WORK message that “part of loving the country is the American duty to push back against overreach. What’s happening with I.C.E. is going too far.”

“There is a big difference between deporting violent criminals and what’s happening now, and we need to get the distinction right,” he told employees.

Still Altman didn’t go as far to criticize Trump himself. “President Trump is a very strong leader, and I hope he will rise to this moment and unite the country," he said. "I am encouraged by the last few hours of response and hope to see trust rebuilt with transparent investigations.”

Target’s incoming CEO Michael Fiddelke

Michael Fiddelke, the incoming CEO of Minneapolis-based Target $TGT, called the violence in the city “incredibly painful” in a video message sent to employees on Monday.

“As someone who is raising a family here in the Twin Cities and as a leader of this hometown company I want to acknowledge where we are,” Fiddelke said, according to Bloomberg. “The violence and loss of life in our community is incredibly painful.

“I know it’s weighing heavily on many of you across the country, as it is with me. What’s happening affects us not just as a company but as people, as neighbors, friends and family members,” he added.

Minnesota CEOs joint letter

Target’s Fiddelke was also among the signatories of a joint statement from about sixty Minnesota-based CEOs, including Best Buy $BBY chief executive Corie Barrie and General Mills $GIS chief executive Jeff Harmening.

"The recent challenges facing our state have created widespread disruption and tragic loss of life," the statement said. "With yesterday’s tragic news, we are calling for an immediate deescalation of tensions and for state, local and federal officials to work together to find real solutions."  

The leaders urged “peace and focused cooperation among local, state and federal leaders to achieve a swift and durable solution that enables families, businesses, our employees, and communities across Minnesota to resume our work to build a bright and prosperous future." 

The statement did not specifically mention Trump administration, I.C.E., Renee Good, or Alex Pretti by name.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei posted an essay to his website Monday called “The Adolescence of Technology," in which he wrote about “confronting and overcoming the risks of powerful AI.” While the essay itself doubled as marketing and didn’t address the events in Minnesota, Amodei wrote on X $TWTR, “I've been working on this essay for a while, and it is mainly about AI and about the future. But given the horror we're seeing in Minnesota, its emphasis on the importance of preserving democratic values and rights at home is particularly relevant.”

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon

Before Pretti was killed, JPMorgan $JPM CEO Jamie Dimon criticized the Trump administration's immigration policy at the World Economic Forum in Davos last week. He deemed the actions of some federal immigration officers to be too extreme.

″I don’t like what I’m seeing, five grown men beating up a little old lady,” Dimon said. “So I think we should calm down a little bit on the internal anger about immigration.”

Apple CEO Tim Cook

Apple CEO Tim Cook told staff he is "heartbroken" by the events in Minneapolis and has expressed his concerns to President Donald Trump.

The message was sent to staff on Tuesday, according to the Wall Street Journal. Cook came under fire this weekend for attending a White House screening of the First Lady Melania Trump's documentary on Saturday, just hours after Pretti was killed.

“This is a time for de-escalation,” Cook wrote to Apple staff. “I believe America is strongest when we live up to our highest ideals, when we treat everyone with dignity and respect no matter who they are or where they’re from, and when we embrace our shared humanity.”

Cook said he “had a good conversation with the president this week where I shared my views, and I appreciate his openness to engaging on issues that matter to us all." He also told staff he appreciates how "deeply our teams care about the world beyond our walls.”

—Joseph Zeballos-Roig and Chris Morgan contributed to this article.