ICE’s Busiest Year Since 2004: Deadly Crackdown Beyond Minneapolis Shooting

Amid a sustained crackdown on what the Trump administration describes as the promise of "mass deportations"  of unlawful migrants out of the US, a fresh wave of resentment and protests have surfaced following the fatal shooting of a woman by an ICE agent in Minneapolis on Wednesday.

The shooting was captured on video, which showed a woman attempting to turn around her car as ICE agents surrounded the vehicle. One of the agents fired at her, causing fatal injuries.

The woman has been identified as 37-year-old Renee Nicole MacklinGood, a US citizen and a mother of three who had recently relocated to Minnesota.

A witness to the incident, Emily Heller, told local media: “She (Good) was trying to turn around, and the ICE agent was in front of her car, and he pulled out a gun and put it right in – like his midriff was on her bumper – and he reached across the hood of the car and shot her in the face like three, four times.”

The incident occurred after the Trump administration sent additional immigration agents to Minnesota as part of intensified actions, in what immigration officials have described as the agency’s “largest operation to date”.

“If you’re a criminal illegal alien and/or you are engaged in fraud, expect a visit from ICE,” the enforcement agency posted on X.

After returning to office in January, 2025, Donald Trump rolled out a series of immigration-related executive orders, fulfilling campaign promises to curb “illegal” immigration in the United States.

His administration has gone all out in an approach that critics say operates in a grey area of presidential authority. It has deployed thousands of federal agents and is preparing for a more aggressive immigration crackdown in 2026, backed by billions of dollars in new funding, including plans to conduct more workplace raids.

As part of the immigration push, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the US Border Patrol have carried out high-profile operations in Democrat-led cities such as Los Angeles and Chicago. Trump also called on the National Guard to assist local police departments in curbing crime.

Trump has defended the actions of the ICE agent, calling the woman a “professional agitator.”

He added that the woman was obstructing and resisting, and “violently, willfully and viciously ran over the ICE officer,” who shot at her in self defense.

But Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey had a different account, "This was an agent recklessly using power that resulted in somebody dying", telling ICE officials to get the "Get the f--- out of Minneapolis," calling the DHS statement that the shooting happened in self-defence "garbage."

ICE and the Department of Homeland Security’s use-of-force policy states officers are authorised to use deadly force only if the officer “has a reasonable belief that the subject of such force poses an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury.” The policy also says officers should “avoid intentionally and unreasonably placing themselves in positions in which they have no alternative to using deadly force.”

However, the Minneapolis shooting is not an isolated event. 

How many people has ICE shot?

At least four people have been killed and five others injured in these incidents.

Using data from the Gun Violence Archive and news reports, The Trace — a non-profit newsroom focused on gun violence in the US — has tracked incidents in which federal agents have either shot individuals or held them at gunpoint during immigration enforcement actions under Trump’s crackdown. 

As of January 7, 2025, it identified 28 such incidents, including 14 shootings. These include cases in which three people were shot while observing or documenting ICE raids, five people were shot while driving away from traffic stops or attempting to evade enforcement actions, and a September 30 raid on a Chicago apartment building in which half-asleep tenants and their children were held at gunpoint. 

The Trace also mentioned: “Our numbers are likely an undercount, as shootings involving immigration agents are not always publicly reported.”

Furthermore, The Trace has documented 13 incidents in which immigration agents fired less-lethal munitions, including rubber bullets and pepper balls, at suspects or members of the public. Ten of these incidents occurred during protests. Those affected included two pastors who were shot with pepper balls while leading prayers at demonstrations in California and Illinois.

The Trump administration has maintained that federal immigration agents have the right to defend themselves when confronted by angry crowds. “Our officers are facing terrorist attacks, being shot at, having cars being used as weapons against them, bomb threats, assaults, doxxing,” Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told the Los Angeles Times, which reported a 26 per cent increase in assaults against ICE agents between January and November compared with the same period last year. Many of these assaults involved individuals shoving agents or throwing objects at them.

Overcrowded Detention Centres

32 people died in ICE custody in 2025, making it the agency’s deadliest year in more than two decades, as the Trump administration moved to detain a record number of people, The Guardian reported.

The death toll matched the previous record set in 2004. The deaths came as the administration ramped up immigration operations, detaining an unprecedented number of people in December. 

In mid-December, ICE was holding 68,440 people in detention, nearly 75 per cent of whom had no criminal convictions. December was also the deadliest month in ICE custody, with six deaths reported.

The deaths were caused by seizures and heart failure, stroke, respiratory failure, tuberculosis, or suicide. Some occurred at ICE detention centres and field offices, while others happened after detainees were transferred to hospitals but remained in ICE custody. In several cases, families and lawyers have alleged that the deaths resulted from neglect, claiming repeated attempts to obtain medical care were unsuccessful.