ICE officer kills Minneapolis driver during explosive federal crackdown

🚨 ICE officer kills Minneapolis motorist during federal immigration crackdown, sparking outrage and protests in the Twin Cities.

⚖️ Mayor Jacob Frey slams federal agents, calling the operation reckless, unnecessary, and harmful to families.

✊ Local activists and residents mobilize, chanting and using whistles to monitor the enforcement surge.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed a Minneapolis motorist on Wednesday during the latest federal immigration enforcement operation, a move officials claim was self-defense, but the city’s mayor called “reckless” and unnecessary.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Videos contain sensitive language and visuals

Shooting occurs near historic immigrant neighborhoods

The shooting took place in a residential area south of downtown Minneapolis, just blocks from some of the city’s oldest immigrant markets and about a mile from where George Floyd was killed in 2020.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, during a Texas visit, described the incident as an “act of domestic terrorism” carried out by a woman who “attempted to run them over and rammed them with her vehicle.” She added that “an officer of ours acted quickly and defensively, shot, to protect himself and the people around him.”

Mayor Frey blasts federal crackdown as chaotic and deadly

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey sharply disputed Noem’s characterization and criticized the deployment of more than 2,000 federal officers to the Twin Cities as part of the operation.

“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. “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 bullshit,” he added.

Protests erupt as local residents mobilize

The shooting marks a dramatic escalation in federal immigration operations across major U.S. cities, and at least the fifth person has been killed in similar enforcement actions since 2024.

A large crowd of protesters gathered at the scene, chanting “Shame! Shame! Shame!” and “ICE out of Minnesota!” while blowing whistles, echoing tactics seen in Los Angeles and Chicago crackdowns.

Activists and neighborhood groups have been preparing for months, using online networks, license plate monitoring, and alert devices. On Tuesday night, the Immigration Defense Network held a training for about 100 residents willing to patrol neighborhoods to monitor federal enforcement efforts.

“I feel like I'm an ordinary person, and I have the ability do something so I need to do it,” said Mary Moran, one participant, to KMSP-TV.

Get our free mobile app