ICE under scrutiny after the killing of Renee Good

Protests across the country, resignations among federal prosecutors and criticism from human rights organizations reopen the debate over the use of federal force in the United States.

On January 7, Renee Good, a 37-year-old woman, was killed by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). The killing was recorded and shared on social media. This sparked protests not only in Minnesota but across the country, which were suppressed by federal forces; there were arrests, and the response of the Donald Trump administration was that she was a “domestic terrorist.”

The demonstrations spread to Los Angeles, Seattle, Philadelphia, Washington DC, New York, Chicago, Boston, New Orleans, Phoenix, Columbus, San Antonio, Salt Lake City, San Francisco and other cities. All of them demanded justice for the 37-year-old woman and others who died at the hands of ICE.

In recent days the demonstrations have broadened: they no longer demanded only justice for the victims, but also challenged the repressive deployment of militarized federal forces in cities across the country. This pattern of repression generated a response that goes beyond Minnesota and opens up a scenario of nationwide resistance.

According to public records and media reports on incidents in 2025, ICE has been involved in multiple armed confrontations and deaths during immigration enforcement operations and detentions. However, there are no official figures.

For its part, the Department of Justice (DOJ) stated that there are no grounds to open a civil rights investigation into the shooting of Renee Good by ICE. Instead, the investigation is being treated as a crime against a federal agent, since, according to the U.S. administration, Renee Good was accused of attempting to commit an act of “domestic terrorism” by trying to run over the ICE agent who shot her.

Human Rights Watch documented other operations by federal agents in which it identified excessive use of force against migrant communities and those who protest on their behalf. The organization maintains that since Donald Trump launched his social media campaign on immigration enforcement, the abuses have worsened.

In addition, according to The New York Times and Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), at least six federal prosecutors in Minnesota resigned or announced their departure in connection with the investigation into the shooting in which Good was killed. They said they were concerned about how the U.S. administration was handling the investigation, particularly its blocking of a traditional civil rights investigation and its prioritizing of an investigation into the widow rather than the agent involved.

On January 13, one of the prosecutors who resigned was Joseph H. Thompson, the First Assistant U.S. Attorney in Minnesota, who held a senior position in the office before leaving in protest over the turn the investigation had taken. Governor Tim Walz lamented Thompson’s departure and said it is the latest sign that President Trump is driving nonpartisan career professionals out of the Department of Justice and replacing them with his own partisans.

The use of federal force is once again called into question

ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is a federal agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and is the body responsible for enforcing immigration and customs laws within U.S. territory. Its mission includes detaining, processing and deporting people for violations of immigration laws, as well as investigating transnational crimes.

At the United Nations, human rights spokesperson Jeremy Laurence recalled that, under international human rights law, the intentional use of lethal force should only be used as a last resort in the face of an imminent threat to life, and stressed the need for measures to de-escalate tensions and incitement to violence.

For its part, Human Rights Watch denounced that during 2025 ICE and other federal agents have been abusing immigrant communities across the United States with “impunity.” The organization’s crisis, conflict and arms director, Ida Sawyer, said that the killing of Renee Good is a sign that ICE’s abusive tactics put lives at risk, including those of people who are not subject to immigration enforcement.

Human Rights Watch closely followed the Good case, analyzed four videos of the shooting that circulated on social media and in the press, and reviewed four witness accounts in local media. Although Human Rights Watch’s analyses are not conclusive, they do show that at the moment the shots were fired, the ICE officer was positioned at the far left of the vehicle, out of its direct path, and the vehicle was moving away from him, which, according to the human rights organization, casts doubt on his having reasonably feared death or serious bodily injury, as the national government claims.

The organization emphasized that law enforcement officers may only intentionally use lethal force when strictly necessary to protect life and, in addition, security forces must ensure that injured people receive medical assistance as soon as possible.

Guillermo Whpei

President of Fundación para la Democracia