Photo: AFP
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents say they're fearing for their safety as they face growing public hostility in the wake of the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good, an unarmed Minnesota mother killed by a federal agent earlier this month.
Good, 37, was shot three times inside her car by ICE agent Jonathan Ross during an immigration protest in a residential Minneapolis neighborhood on January 7, sparking protests across the country. Businesses in parts of Minneapolis have boarded up, and vigils have appeared across the nation, where demonstrators are calling for ICE to be abolished.
Current and former ICE agents told The Daily Beast that the backlash has dramatically shifted how the public treats them. One agent said drivers in Minnesota now frequently make gun gestures with their hands as they pass ICE patrols. Former agents who recently left Homeland Security Investigations said colleagues fear the hostility could escalate into real-world violence.
“Talking to colleagues in Minneapolis, they say it is not uncommon for people to drive past them and make gun signs with their fingers,” one former agent said.
Another former agent said ICE’s reputation has deteriorated rapidly under President Donald Trump’s administration.
“We used to be respected and liked by the public… That’s gone now,” he said.
Agents also fear that the distrust is beginning to affect their work in court, with juries increasingly skeptical of ICE testimony and evidence. One former agent said convictions have become harder to secure as public confidence in the agency erodes.
According to a report published Monday (January 12), Border Patrol, which is assisting ICE in Minneapolis, is struggling to recruit agents for “Operation Metro Surge,” announced by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem following Good’s killing. Leaked internal documents indicate officials sought 300 volunteers, but many agents declined to participate.
A recent YouGov survey shows ICE’s approval rating has dropped from +16 last February to -13, with 52 percent of respondents disapproving of how the agency operates and 51 percent saying it uses excessive force.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin defended ICE in a statement, saying agents “put their lives on the line to arrest the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens” and vowed the agency would not be deterred by protests or criticism.
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