Protests erupted on Wednesday in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood and across the region following the news of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer fatally shooting a woman in Minneapolis, Minnesota, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Recently, there have been several incidents involving federal agents and shootings during alleged car-ramming situations amid an immigration enforcement push in the Chicago area. These events include a fatal shooting in Franklin Park and another in the Brighton Park neighborhood of Chicago, where the Department of Justice subsequently dropped charges against those involved, including a woman who was wounded in the incident.
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Baltazar Enriquez, President of the Little Village Community Council, shared a statement on Wednesday expressing, “Today, alongside community members, faith leaders, and allies, we unite in solidarity and mourning to condemn the killing of a 37-year-old woman in Minneapolis, an innocent U.S. citizen whose life was taken by ICE agents. We are outraged… Our gathering includes candles, prayers, and support from the faith community, honoring the life lost and all families affected by unjust enforcement practices. We urge Chicagoans to stand united—to demand justice, to protect one another, and to advocate for a society where no one is killed for existing, migrating, or being of color.”
Additional gatherings were organized for Wednesday evening in other areas, such as Evanston and Winnemac Park on Chicago’s North Side.
The ICE officer involved in the Minneapolis shooting claimed self-defense during the Trump administration’s latest immigration crackdown in a major U.S. city. However, the city’s mayor labeled the shooting as “reckless” and unnecessary.
The victim was shot in front of a family member during a traffic stop in a residential area south of downtown Minneapolis, close to longstanding immigrant markets and about a mile from where George Floyd was killed by police in 2020. Her death swiftly attracted a crowd of hundreds of outraged protesters.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, while visiting 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 as “garbage” and criticized the federal deployment of more than 2,000 officers to the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul as part of the immigration crackdown.
“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 immigration agents to leave. “They’re ripping families apart. They’re sowing chaos on our streets, and in this case, quite literally killing people.”
“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 bull****,” the mayor said.
Illinois U.S. Senator Dick Durbin issued the following statement:
“As I’ve said time and time again, the Trump Administration’s militarized immigration raids are dangerous political theater meant to spread fear and advance an anti-immigrant agenda. And now, a surge in immigration enforcement activity has led to the fatal shooting of a woman in Minneapolis. This loss of life is tragic, heartbreaking, and enraging, but I encourage all protestors to remain peaceful.
“A full investigation must be completed so the truth can be revealed. Video of the incident starkly contradicts DHS’s narrative, and the fact that DHS has jumped to characterize this shooting in ‘self-defense’ is rushed, at best, and a lie, at worst.
“In a November hearing challenging the treatment of press and protestors by federal immigration agents, U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis said that their ‘use of force shocks the conscience’ and ‘this conduct shows no sign of stopping.’ And now their use of force has led to another shooting and another death. This must come to an end.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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