January 27, 2026 – The United States Transhumanist Party (USTP) unequivocally condemns the appalling killings in Minneapolis of Renee Good on January 7, 2026, by agent Jonathan Ross of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and of Alex Pretti on January 24, 2026, by United States Border Patrol Agents. The USTP has long stood against disproportionately violent tactics by law enforcement, and the taking of an innocent life is the most disproportionately violent tactic of all.

“Those who saw the video evidence of the tragic encounters that ended the lives of Renee Good and Alex Pretti cannot, in good conscience, claim that the use of deadly force against them was in any manner reasonable, proportionate, or justified,” stated Gennady Stolyarov II, Chairman of the U.S. Transhumanist Party. “These people were making their grievances known to ICE and the U.S. Border Patrol, as was their Constitutional right, and sought to help those who were unjustly targeted by those agencies. Even if they technically committed some infractions in the course of their behavior, as some allege – even if their behavior was risky and not advisable from a prudential or self-preservation standpoint – no reasonable person can conclude that this made them deserving of the death penalty – and especially not without due process of law. Even if Renee Good inadvertently struck Jonathan Ross with her vehicle as she was trying to exit the confrontation with ICE, shooting to kill is never justified as a response to an accidental collision. Even if Alex Pretti was carrying a weapon that he did not use – as was his Second Amendment right – shooting to kill solely based on the possession of a firearm is profoundly contrary to American founding principles. It is, indeed, a mark of lawlessness and arbitrary power for any government to execute its own citizens in the streets.”

R. Nicholas Starr, Member of the United States and New York Transhumanist Parties, noted that the ICE and Border Patrol Officers who committed the killings were “clearly violating Constitutional Amendments, at the very least the First and Second” Amendments. Starr expressed that “These were extrajudicial killings. None of what the victims did warrants a death sentence. The Trump administration is lying, and the video evidence exists to prove it. Pretti was not aggressing but was being attacked while trying to protect someone else. Pretti was an ICU nurse who, by definition of the job, is dedicated to extending life.”

Brent Ellman, Secretary of the U.S. Transhumanist Party, remarked, “Renee Good and Alex Pretti were murdered at the hands of federal ICE and Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis. Their deaths are the result of a heavy-handed operation that has clearly overstepped its authority and abused the trust placed in it to protect, not take, life. Both Good and Pretti were U.S. citizens, and video and eyewitness accounts raise major questions about the necessity and proportionality of the force used. This situation deserves to be met with unflinching accountability and a nationwide conversation about the limits of power and the sanctity of human life.”

Furthermore, the USTP deplores the heavy-handed enforcement tactics of ICE and the United States Border Patrol, which have been deployed throughout the country over the past year against predominantly peaceful individuals – including undocumented immigrants but also including numerous immigrants with legal status and U.S. citizens – many of whom have been wrongfully arrested, imprisoned in appalling conditions within Federal detention centers, and deported without due process and often despite having legal status and consequent protections against deportation. Concurrently, ICE and Border Patrol deployed their maximalist enforcement tactics against the increasing numbers of Americans – including U.S. citizens – who have rightly expressed opposition to these tactics and who utilized their Constitutionally guaranteed First Amendment right to assemble in public and peacefully express their grievances through the exercise of free speech.

Section XXI of the U.S. Transhumanist Party Platform reads, “The United States Transhumanist Party supports a concerted effort by governments and by public opinion to eradicate police brutality against peaceful citizens, such that violent force is only utilized against individuals who actually pose an imminent threat to human lives.” The principle that applies to police brutality also applies to brutality and the needless use of violent force by Federal law-enforcement agencies, such as ICE and the U.S. Border Patrol. Additionally, Section LXXXVI of the USTP Platform, supports “efforts to give citizens more accessible and safer ways to report misconduct, corruption, constitutional rights violations, international human rights violations, and other similar infractions” including “by federal law-enforcement agencies, such as Customs and Border Protection (CBP) […] and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)”. Quite contrary to the goal of giving citizens additional accessible and safe ways to report misconduct and rights violations, ICE and the U.S. Border Patrol have with increasing frequency resorted to inflicting bodily harm and even death upon those citizens who have dared to challenge such misconduct and rights violations.

Tom Ross, the USTP’s Director of Sentient Rights Advocacy and 2024 U.S. Presidential Candidate, remarked, “The most important thing I think we can do right now is to push for this to be handled outside of ‘internal review’.” He called for “An independent, State-led investigation with full authority to secure and review all evidence (body-cam and bystander video, dispatch, incident reports), with every involved agency required to cooperate.” Unfortunately, the Trump administration has reacted in the opposite manner, reflexively defending the actions of those who killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti and slandering the victims as assailants or terrorists when all video evidence shows the contrary. “It’s unconscionable how the Administration is reacting,” Tom Ross said.

In addition, the U.S. Transhumanist Party Platform advocates for more humane treatment of undocumented immigrants, including “efforts to provide a path to legalization for all current undocumented immigrants living and working in the United States, free of restrictions based on country of origin, economic status, education, length of residency, or any other criteria, other than history of violent criminal activity” (Section XCIII) and “efforts to end detention of all migrants for immigration violations not related to violent crimes” (Section XCIV) – the direct opposite measures to those perpetrated by ICE and the U.S. Border Patrol today. Furthermore, per Section XCV of its Platform, the USTP “supports measures to modernize and streamline the immigration process and eliminate the backlogs for those already in the queue. The United States Transhumanist Party advocates simplifying the documentation process, eliminating all requirements for filling out hard-copy paperwork, and utilizing technology to cut wait times and bureaucratic delays.” But instead of adopting a rational and humane approach to immigration and reducing the incentives of some immigrants to remain undocumented, the Trump administration has deployed ICE and the U.S. Border Patrol to intimidate, harass, deprive of liberty, and sometimes kill people who have inflicted no harm and no credible threat of harm upon anyone.

Tom Ross stated, “A transhumanist future is about precision and dignity under the rule of law—not fear-driven enforcement and unreviewable power.”

Dan Elton, the U.S. Transhumanist Party Director of Scholarship, remarked, “With this statement, the USTP not only stands firmly against the growing menace of ICE raids. Concomitantly, the USTP is also proposing sensible policies that will end the menace of ICE and enable all law-abiding people living in our communities to live with dignity and free from fear. The recent forced deportation of law-abiding migrants who have lived and worked in our country for many years is not only unethical but is destructive to important sectors of our economy like agriculture and home-building. The housing crisis, which is profoundly destructive to our economy and society, is now deepening due to labor shortages and tariffs which are causing construction costs to skyrocket. On top of all this, we just saw ICE and Border Patrol officers wantonly kill two US citizens. These were unjust, inexcusable deaths that should be condemned by all. Instead, the current administration is inventing lies to defend the killings and provide cover for ICE and U.S. Border Patrol. An FBI official who tried to start an investigation of the first killing was unable to do so and recently resigned. ICE officers, many of whom have received little training, continue to terrorize our communities with growing impunity and ferocity. With this statement the USTP stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the vast majority of Americans who agree that the current situation with ICE is completely unacceptable. The time to speak out is now, and that is what the USTP is doing.”

Jason Geringer, the U.S. Transhumanist Party Legislative Director, emphasized “the blatant outright lies by the Trump administration when the whole world can literally see all the videos from all the different angles and see with their own eyes that they are lying.” Geringer stated that “This is significant because there’s a bullying tactic used by bullies where it’s not about the lie itself; they’re not trying to persuade you that what they are saying is true. They want you to know they’re lying and force you to accept it. It’s about power; if you can force someone to say the sky is not blue but green or whatever other color out of fear, then you have power over them.” He added that “it’s really not normal for the government to lie like this. Now I know politicians lie, but not like this; this is different. This is insulting to the whole world’s intelligence.”

Geringer said, “I joined the USTP because it is the party of science, health and technology with a strong inclination towards rational thinking and trying to bring that rational thinking back into politics.” He explained that he “went with the rational thinkers who believe in science because they’re the ones who will believe in the truth” and that the lies emanating from the Trump administration are “just unacceptable; we need to bring the truth back into politics. Politicians used to be held accountable at least at the ballot box for lying. This needs to come back.” In Geringer’s view, this is “one area where the USTP can set an example. We shouldn’t have to lie to win an election.” He articulated a vision where honesty in politics is possible and a culture of telling the truth can be restored – in contrast to the Trump administration’s insistence that we disbelieve the clear and compelling video evidence of the tragic events in Minneapolis.

For many U.S. Transhumanist Party members, the unjust killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti have given rise to intensely negative emotions. Allen Crowley, who leads the Texas Transhumanist Party, remarked, “Nothing I would say should be printed, in keeping with our party’s desire for decorum” but asked to be quoted on that.

“The conviction that death is wrong is a deeply held view among the vast majority of transhumanists,” Chairman Stolyarov stated. “The intentional and extrajudicial infliction of death upon another – in the absence of a clear, direct, physical threat to one’s life in the moment – is not in keeping with transhumanist principles. ICE and the U.S. Border Patrol have become institutions that, due to a thorough disregard of the law and of individual rights, inflict death upon innocent people with reckless abandon. We are entering a highly dangerous period on American history, where escalation leads to escalation, and the agents of the Trump administration unfortunately are highly complicit in this vicious cycle through the use of maximalist enforcement tactics – including tactics that inflict death. We must reject these inhuman and anti-human behaviors, bring all of those who participated in the extrajudicial killings to fair trials within the justice system, and eliminate any ability for ICE and the U.S. Border Patrol to inflict death or injury upon those who oppose their actions.