Katy Perry and Pedro Pascal among celebrities calling for citizen action after Minnesota shootings

Singer Billie Eilish called Alex Pretti ‘a real American hero’ while the NBA Players Association says they ‘can no longer remain silent’

Singer Katy Perry and other US celebrities have called for citizens to contact lawmakers and speak out against federal immigration officials' killing of two US citizens during the Trump administration's immigration crackdown in Minnesota.

Perry asked her Instagram followers on Monday to write to their US senators and urge them to oppose funding for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, which is a part of the Department of Homeland Security.

The killings this month of Renee Good, a mother of three, and intensive care nurse Alex Pretti have sparked demonstrations against President Donald Trump's surge of agents in Minnesota.

The Last of Us star Pedro Pascal posted drawings of Good and Pretti on Instagram with the message: "Pretti Good reason for a national strike."

Singer Billie Eilish, also posting on Instagram, called Pretti "a real American hero" and urged others to raise their voices: "hey my fellow celebrities u gonna speak up? or".

The National Basketball Players Association, the union for NBA players, issued a statement on Sunday that players "can no longer remain silent."

“Following the news of yet another fatal shooting in Minneapolis, a city that has been on the forefront of the fight against injustices, NBA players can no longer remain silent,” it said.

“Now more than ever, we must defend the right to freedom of speech and stand in solidarity with the people in Minnesota protesting and risking their lives to demand justice.

“The fraternity of NBA players, like the United States itself, is a community enriched by its global citizens, and we refuse to let the flames of division threaten the civil liberties that are meant to protect us all.

“The NBPA and its members extend our deepest condolences to the families of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, just as our thoughts remain focused on the safety and well-being of all members of our community.”

Trump administration officials said the recent killings were acts of self-defense by officers, although video evidence from the scenes contradicted that characterization.

Meanwhile, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the shooting and killing of Pretti “occurred as a result of a deliberate and hostile resistance by Democrat leaders in Minnesota.”

Leavitt’s remarks showed the administration still seeks to blame the violence on its political rivals, even as President Donald Trump said Monday (26 January) he had a productive phone conversation with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz aimed at easing tensions.

Leavitt also made an effort to distance Trump from comments by several administration officials that criminalized Pretti. Leavitt said she had “not heard the president characterise” Pretti as a domestic terrorist, a label Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem used a day earlier.

US celebrities have often spoken out on behalf of social and political causes. Many criticized police brutality after the killing of George Floyd and U.S. ally Israel's assault on Gaza.