The killing of Renée Nicole Good by a federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent this January in Minneapolis represents a chilling escalation in the use of force by immigration authorities — and a stark reminder that federal enforcement tactics are out of step with both community safety and civil rights.

Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen and mother of three, was shot and killed by an ICE officer on January 7, 2026, during an enforcement operation in Minneapolis. Federal officials have characterized the incident as a justified use of force, claiming Good attempted to “weaponize” her vehicle in a way that posed a threat. Yet eyewitness accounts and bystander videos tell a different story: Good’s vehicle was moving away from the agents when the officer fired multiple shots through the windshield and side window, resulting in her death.

As documented in The Marshall Project, federal immigration agents have been conducting aggressive operations in Minneapolis, deploying larger numbers of officers and invoking broad authority to detain and arrest suspected immigration violators — but enforcing immigration policy cannot come at the cost of innocent lives. Renée Good was not accused of a violent crime or on a terror watch list when she was killed; she was driving away from a chaotic scene involving federal agents.

This is not the first time that the aggressive campaign to remove families and hard-working citizens from the United States has taken a deadly turn. there have been to date 17 shootings by ice officials with four of those having deadly consequences. Including Silverio Villegas González, a 38-year-old father and the sole caregiver to his two children. He had no serious criminal record, only minor traffic offenses. On September 12, after dropping one of his children off at school, ICE agents attempted to stop his car in Franklin Park, a suburb west of Chicago. With agents positioned on both sides of the vehicle, Villegas reversed and then began to move forward. Before he had gone far, an agent shot him at close range. The sequence mirrors what unfolded this week in Minneapolis: routine immigration enforcement escalating within seconds into deadly force.

This wasn’t de-escalation. It was execution.

In the wake of this tragedy, the Latino Action Network calls attention to a pattern of federal law enforcement tactics that increasingly resemble militarized policing rather than community-oriented public safety. Use-of-force standards adopted by most police departments prohibit officers from shooting at moving vehicles unless there is a clear and imminent threat to life — a threshold that clearly was not met here. Yet ICE agents are being deployed with little oversight, little transparency, and minimal accountability.

Just one day after the Minneapolis fatality, federal immigration agents were involved in another shooting during a vehicle stop in Portland, Oregon, where two people were wounded. Federal officials claimed the individuals attempted to flee and posed a threat; local authorities and civil rights advocates have called for an independent investigation. These incidents, in quick succession, suggest a troubling pattern: reliance on force rather than community engagement, and a disregard for the value of human life in enforcement actions.

From our perspective at the Latino Action Network, this trend violates the very principles of justice our nation claims to uphold. ICE’s mission should be to enforce immigration laws humanely and with respect for civil liberties — not to engage in lethal confrontations in residential neighborhoods. Far too often, those most affected by ICE enforcement are families, children, and hardworking immigrants contributing to their communities.

Our message is clear:

“When federal agencies use force as a first resort rather than a last option, when innocent civilians end up on the ground instead of in conversation, we are not safer — we are less so. ICE must immediately adopt strict use-of-force restrictions and independent oversight, and stop operating in ways that terrorize the very communities it claims to protect.”

— Javier Robles, President, Latino Action Network

The shooting of Renée Good also highlights broader issues of transparency and accountability. Federal agencies asserted control over the investigation and limited state participation, raising serious questions about impartiality and access to justice. Local authorities, including Minneapolis city leaders, have condemned the incident as excessive force and called for ICE to withdraw from community policing efforts.

In Minneapolis, Portland, and other cities where ICE has increased its presence, we have seen communities traumatized by aggressive tactics — with protests, loss of trust, and deep fear replacing cooperation and public safety. This is not how a democratic society should approach immigration enforcement.

The Latino Action Network stands with families and communities demanding a halt to militarized immigration enforcement and the implementation of policies that protect human rights, prioritize de-escalation, and ensure that federal agents are accountable to the public they serve.

Lives matter. Safety matters. Justice matters. And so does the reform of federal immigration enforcement.