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A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer shot and killed a Minneapolis motorist on Wednesday during the Trump administration’s latest immigration crackdown on a major American city — a shooting that federal officials claimed was an act of self-defence but that the city’s mayor described as “reckless” and unnecessary.
The ICE officer shot the woman in her vehicle in a residential neighbourhood in Minneapolis, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, during a visit to Texas, described the incident as an “act of domestic terrorism” carried out against ICE officers by a woman who “attempted to run them over and rammed them with her vehicle. An officer of ours acted quickly and defensively, shot, to protect himself and the people around him.”
But Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey blasted that characterization and the federal deployment of more than 2,000 officers as part of the immigration crackdown in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
They’re ripping families apart. They’re sowing chaos on our streets and in this case quite literally killing people.– Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey
“They are not here to cause safety in this city. What they are doing is not to provide safety in America. What they are doing is causing chaos and distrust,” Frey said, calling on the federal agents to leave the city. “They’re ripping families apart. They’re sowing chaos on our streets and in this case quite literally killing people.”
The mayor added: “They are already trying to spin this as an action of self-defence. Having seen the video myself, I wanna tell everybody directly, that is bullshit.”
Minneapolis police chief contradicts ICE position
The shooting comes during a series of immigration enforcement operations in major American cities under the Trump administration.
The Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul have been on edge since the DHS announced on Tuesday that it had launched the operation, with 2,000 agents and officers expected to participate in the crackdown tied in part to allegations of fraud involving Somali residents.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara briefly described the shooting to reporters but, unlike federal officials, gave no indication that the 37-year-old driver was trying to harm anyone. He said she had been shot in the head.
“This woman was in her vehicle and was blocking the roadway on Portland Avenue…. At some point a federal law enforcement officer approached her on foot and the vehicle began to drive off,” the chief said. “At least two shots were fired. The vehicle then crashed on the side of the roadway.”
A large throng of protesters gathered at the scene after Wednesday’s shooting, where they vented their anger at the local and federal officers who were there, including Gregory Bovino, a senior U.S. Customs and Border Patrol official who has been the face of crackdowns in Los Angeles, Chicago and elsewhere.
‘Shame, shame, shame’
In a scene similar to the Los Angeles and Chicago crackdowns, bystanders didn’t hold back in venting their anger, blowing whistles and taunting the federal agents.
“Shame, shame, shame” and “ICE out of Minnesota” they loudly chanted from behind the police tape.
An immigration crackdown in Minnesota is being met by organized opposition from people who are angry about U.S. Donald Trump’s anti-Somali tirades. For The National, CBC’s Katie Nicholson goes to Minneapolis and finds a community coming together to try and protect its neighbours.
The area where the shooting occurred is a modest neighbourhood south of downtown Minneapolis, just a few blocks from some of the oldest immigrant markets in the area and 1.6 kilometres from where George Floyd was killed by police in 2020.
“We’ve been trying to live life as fully as possible in light of the fear and anxiety that we feel,” said Rev. Hierald Osorto, pastor at St. Paul’s-San Pablo Lutheran Church, which has a predominantly Latino congregation in the area.
The Immigrant Defense Network, a coalition of groups serving immigrants in Minnesota, held a training session Tuesday night for about 100 people who are willing to hit the streets to monitor the federal enforcement.
“I feel like I’m an ordinary person, and I have the ability do something so I need to do it,” Mary Moran told KMSP-TV.
