MINNEAPOLIS — In a dramatic turn of events amid the Trump administration’s intensified immigration enforcement, a Minneapolis resident was fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer on Wednesday. Federal authorities claim the shooting was necessary for self-defense, but the city’s mayor has labeled the action as “reckless” and avoidable.
The incident unfolded in a neighborhood located south of downtown Minneapolis, just a stone’s throw away from historic immigrant markets and approximately a mile from the site where George Floyd tragically died at the hands of police in 2020.
While speaking in Texas, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem characterized the event as a case of “domestic terrorism.” She stated that the woman in question “tried to use her vehicle to attack ICE officers. One of our officers responded swiftly and defensively, firing to protect himself and others nearby.”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey sharply criticized this portrayal, condemning the deployment of over 2,000 federal officers in the Twin Cities for immigration enforcement purposes.
“Their presence does not enhance safety in our city or across America,” Frey remarked. “Instead, they are spreading chaos and mistrust. These actions are tearing families apart, creating disorder on our streets, and, in this case, tragically taking lives.”
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“They are already trying to spin this as an action of self-defense. Having seen the video myself, I wanna tell everybody directly, that is bullshit,” the mayor said.
The shooting marks a dramatic escalation of the latest in a series of immigration enforcement operations in major American cities under the Trump administration. It’s at least the fifth person killed in a handful of states since 2024.
The Twin Cities have been on edge since DHS announced Tuesday that it had launched the operation, with more than 2,000 agents and officers expected to participate in the crackdown tied in part to allegations of fraud involving Somali residents.
A large throng of protesters gathered at the scene after the 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.
In a scene that hearkened back to the Los Angeles and Chicago crackdowns, bystanders heckled the officers and blew whistles that have become ubiquitous during the operations.
“Shame! Shame! Shame!” and “ICE out of Minnesota!” they loudly chanted from behind the police tape.
During her Texas visit, Noem confirmed that DHS had deployed more than 2,000 officers to the Twin Cities and already made “hundreds and hundreds” of arrests.
For nearly a year, migrant rights advocates and neighborhood activists across the Twin Cities have been preparing to mobilize in the event of an immigration enforcement surge. From houses of worship to mobile home parks, they have set up very active online networks, scanned license plates for possible federal vehicles and bought whistles and other noise-making devices to alert neighborhoods of any enforcement presence.
On Tuesday night, the Immigration Defense Network, a coalition of groups serving immigrants in Minnesota, held a training session for about 100 people who were willing to hit the streets to monitor the federal enforcement operation.
“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.
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