ICE policy limits use of lethal force. Minnesota shooting tests those constraints.
| Minneapolis, Boston, and Washington
The killing of a woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis on Wednesday has reignited a national debate over the appropriate use of force by federal agents in carrying out immigration raids.
Renee Good, a mother of three who had recently moved to the city, was fatally shot while in her car, which had been partially obstructing federal officers鈥� vehicles. Administration officials said the officer acted in self-defense and sought to blame Ms. Good for the tragedy. Videos of the incident show an officer standing in front of Ms. Good鈥檚 SUV firing multiple shots as she began to drive her car away from the scene, as she had been reportedly ordered to do by other agents. The car then plowed into a stationary vehicle and a utility pole on the snow-lined street.
On Thursday, a few hundred people gathered in bitter cold at the scene. Clergy members spoke at the memorial site 鈥� flowers, candles, and a cross 鈥� that had spread across a sidewalk. 鈥淪he was not armed. She was not a threat. She was standing for freedom,鈥� said JaNae虂 Bates Imari, a minister and a co-director of a faith-based nonprofit. 鈥淎nd the federal government answered her courage with a bullet.鈥�
Why We Wrote This
President Trump鈥檚 aggressive immigration enforcement has roiled cities across the U.S., including Minneapolis, where a federal agent shot and killed a woman. The incident spotlights questions over when use of force is appropriate.
鈥淢urder!鈥� someone called out from the crowd. 鈥淢urder! Murder!鈥� others yelled.
Ms. Good鈥檚 shooting comes after a year of aggressive immigration actions organized by the Trump administration, often in Democratic-run cities. and increased use of other federal agencies to detain unauthorized immigrants have raised questions about the rules that govern their operations and whether the administration has ignored them in its pursuit of deportations after millions entered the United States during Joe Biden鈥檚 presidency. Ms. Good is among several people physically harmed during ICE operations, including a deadly shooting in Chicago.
On Thursday, two people were shot and wounded in Portland, Oregon, during a vehicle stop by U.S. Border Patrol agents. The Department of Homeland Security said the agents were trying to apprehend an unauthorized immigrant when the driver tried to run over the agents, and one of them fired.
Minnesota investigators had begun to work on the case of Ms. Good's shooting in collaboration with federal investigators. But that process halted, according to the state鈥檚 , which said the FBI would take over the investigation and that the BCA would lose access it needed to investigate the incident. Federal officers generally have immunity against state prosecution for actions taken during their official duties.
Around 2,000 federal agents have deployed in Minneapolis in what administration officials say is their largest operation so far. As in other cities, they have faced protesters opposed both to the immigration policies of President Donald Trump and to how ICE operates. Agents have used unmarked vehicles to track and snatch immigrants off the streets across the country,
ICE-led operations and protests against them have raised tensions in other cities. Administration officials say activists have impeded law enforcement and endangered themselves and agents in the field, such as by blocking building entrances.
Questions on use of force
For months, questions have swirled about ICE policy on the use of force, both in making arrests and confronting protesters. Under federal policy, officers must only use deadly force when they believe it would stop an imminent threat of death or serious injury to the officer or other people, says Udi Ofer, a Princeton professor of public affairs who worked with the Biden administration.
Mr. Ofer helped to draft the Justice Department policy on when federal officers can shoot at a moving vehicle. All federal agencies were required in 2022 to adopt guidelines that match or exceed the DOJ standards, says Professor Ofer, via email. The policy makes clear that 鈥渇irearms may not be discharged to disable moving vehicles unless there is a threat of death or serious physical injury to the officer AND no other reasonable means of defense exists,鈥� he wrote.
This includes an officer moving out of the way of the vehicle, so as to avoid being injured. The policy also directs federal officers not to shoot to stop a moving vehicle, a practice that has been largely banned by many police departments. The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, also directs officials not to use deadly force 鈥渟olely to prevent the escape of a fleeing subject鈥� in its on use of force, dated from 2023.
ICE continues to use that policy, said Tricia McLaughlin, an assistant secretary of Homeland Security, in a statement.
鈥淚CE law enforcement officers are trained to use the minimum amount of force necessary to resolve dangerous situations to prioritize the safety of the public and our officers,鈥� she said. 鈥淥fficers are highly trained in de-escalation tactics and regularly receive ongoing use of force training.鈥�
Mr. Trump that Ms. Good 鈥渞an him over,鈥� referring to the ICE officer, and that made the shooting an act of self-defense. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem repeated this claim on Thursday, as did Vice President JD Vance, who said that Ms. Good had been 鈥渂rainwashed鈥� and referred to protests as 鈥渢errorism.鈥�
鈥淭his vehicle was used to hit this officer,鈥� Ms. Noem said at a news conference. 鈥淚t was used as a weapon, and the officer feels as though his life was in jeopardy. It was used to perpetuate a violent act, and this officer took action to protect himself and to protect his fellow law enforcement officers.鈥�
The claim that the ICE officer was run over appears to be at odds with multiple videos posted online. No body-camera footage has been released that would show how the situation looked to the officers on the scene. Experts on how such incidents are investigated say that evaluating the lawful use of deadly force depends on what constitutes an 鈥渋mminent threat.鈥�
鈥淲as [Ms. Good鈥檚] driving and her vehicle posing an imminent threat to this officer who shot and killed her?鈥� asks Geoffrey P. Alpert, a criminologist at the University of South Carolina. 鈥淚f there was an imminent threat that鈥檚 reasonable, then the officer was justified. If there wasn鈥檛, the officer wasn鈥檛 justified.鈥�
But it鈥檚 premature to assess without a 鈥渢horough and transparent investigation,鈥� he adds.
John Gross, a law professor at the University of Wisconsin who studies how police officers use force, says the videos appear to show Ms. Good鈥檚 car partially obstructs the road but doesn鈥檛 pose any threat to human life. 鈥淭he use of deadly force needs to be reasonable under all the surrounding circumstances. And, so, nowhere in the video does it appear that the individual who was shot is a threat to the officers to physically harm them,鈥� he says.
Moreover, federal policy states that law enforcement officers shouldn鈥檛 fire on moving vehicles except under specific circumstances. 鈥淭he policy explicitly says that officers should get out of the path of the vehicle instead of shooting at it. And that鈥檚 a very practical policy,鈥� says Professor Gross.
Luis Robles, an attorney in New Mexico who defends police misconduct cases and trains law enforcement, said he has seen no video that shows the incident from the perspective of the officer who fired his gun. But generally, he said, officers are 鈥渢rained not to stand in front of vehicles.鈥�
鈥淭he case law is also consistent with that: Don鈥檛 create the danger that might require you to shoot your way out.鈥�
鈥淚 just want to be safe鈥�
In September, an ICE agent fatally shot a Mexican immigrant in Chicago who was accused of using his car as a weapon to impede his detention. who said the agent who fired had suffered 鈥渟evere injuries.鈥�
A month later, who had joined protests against immigration raids. Marimar Martinez was inside her vehicle when she was fired upon and wounded. Federal officials said the protesters had 鈥渂oxed in鈥� agents and that officers had been forced to take evasive action. Ms. Martinez was later charged with assault and attempted murder. amid claims that federal officers had tampered with evidence and that the official account of events had been distorted. The Department of Homeland Security had labeled Ms. Martinez and a co-defendant in the vehicle as 鈥渄omestic terrorists.鈥�
Immigration agents have faced judicial scrutiny over their operations in Chicago and the handling of mostly nonviolent protests. In November, and that official accounts of events were misleading and unreliable.
Critics of federal immigration enforcement say that officers, who often wear face coverings as a defense against what they say are retaliatory actions such as doxing, act with apparent immunity. Agents who are involved in on-duty shootings are rarely punished. that 59 such shootings occurred between 2015 and 2021, of which 23 were fatal. No agents were prosecuted over these shootings.
Back in Minneapolis, Mohamed Abdi joined Thursday鈥檚 gathering at the memorial site. A nurse from St. Paul, the nearby twin city, Mr. Abdi saw the incident as an avoidable tragedy. The officer 鈥渉ad time to move,鈥� he said.
Mr. Abdi, from Kenya and of Somali descent, is now an American citizen. Yet amid the immigration enforcement surge here, he carries around his U.S. passport for proof. 鈥淚 just want to be safe,鈥� Mr. Abdi says.
鈥淭his is a moment to stand with each other,鈥� he says. 鈥淚f it was her yesterday, today it鈥檚 me. Tomorrow, it鈥檚 you.鈥�
Staff writer Sarah Matusek reported from Minneapolis and Simon Montlake from Boston. Staff writers Caitlin Babcock and Sophie Hills contributed reporting from Washington.
Editor's note: This article has been corrected to clarify that Princeton professor Udi Ofer worked with the Biden administration, not in it.聽
