President Donald Trump’s border czar has defended Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after one of its agents fatally shot a 37-year-old woman in Minneapolis earlier this week.
Why It Matters
Thousands of protesters took to the streets in cities across the U.S. this weekend after an ICE agent identified in court documents as Jonathan E. Ross shot and killed mother-of-three, Renee Nicole Good, on Wednesday.
The Trump administration said the ICE agent had acted in self-defense, branding Good an “anti-ICE agitator” embroiled in a “broader left-wing network” who had attempted to run the agent over with her vehicle. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Good had committed “an act of domestic terrorism.”
Eyewitnesses and officials in Minnesota hit back at the administration’s claims that Good had harassed and posed a danger to ICE agents. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called Trump officials’ characterization of Good’s death as “b******,” while Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, responding to a DHS statement, added: “Don’t believe this propaganda machine.”
Two people were shot in Portland, Oregon, by an immigration agent on Thursday in a separate incident.
What To Know
“ICE conducts targeted operations to enforce federal immigration laws that have existed for decades, and they do it with the utmost professionalism,” Homan said in a post to X on Saturday. “They don’t choose who gets deported, the law and federal judges do. They didn’t pass the laws nor can they change them.”
The shooting in Minneapolis has leveled even closer scrutiny on widespread immigration raids across the U.S. and some Democrats have threatened to pull back funding for the DHS.
“ICE is creating an environment where nobody feels safe and that’s unacceptable,” Minneapolis native Meghan Moore told The Associated Press on Saturday. Trump, reacting to the shooting on Wednesday, said ICE agents “are just trying to do the job of MAKING AMERICA SAFE.”
Officials in Minnesota said the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had pushed local investigators from the case. “If the Trump admin has nothing to hide from, then don’t hide from it,” Frey said, calling for federal investigators to include the state’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) in inquiries.
Minnesota officials called for protests this weekend to remain peaceful.
What People Are Saying
“If you don’t like the laws, take it up with Congress,” the Trump administration’s border czar, Tom Homan, said on Saturday.
“ICE, get the f*** out of Minneapolis,” the city’s mayor, Jacob Frey, said in a press conference shortly after the fatal shooting.
What Happens Next
The FBI is leading the investigation into the shooting. Its outcome is likely to influence both local and national debates over ICE operations and law enforcement accountability in immigration cases.
Read the full article here
