An ICE officer shot and killed a woman who authorities said was part of an anti-ICE protest and used her vehicle to try to run over immigration enforcement officers in Minneapolis on Wednesday.
The Department of Homeland Security said officers were attempting to make arrests when “rioters” began blocking them in. One of the protesters aimed her vehicle at officers “in an attempt to kill them.” One of the officers then “fired defensive shots,” striking and killing the driver.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were hurt in the incident but are expected to recover, the department said.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called the attempted ramming of her officers an “act of domestic terrorism” and demanded that sanctuary jurisdiction leaders denounce the attack.
Homeland Security has surged personnel into the Minneapolis area after President Trump demanded action on the large Somali immigrant community there that has faced allegations of leading massive fraud on government programs.
The department has called it the largest immigration law enforcement surge of the Trump administration.
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Local Democratic officials have complained about the effort, saying Mr. Trump is politicizing the state’s fraud problem.
Protests have broken out during ICE forays into the community, and that’s what DHS said happened Wednesday.
Ms. Noem said officers’ vehicle got stuck in the snow and they were trying to push it out when the woman drove at them.
The department said the officer who opened fire saved his own life and fellow officers’ lives by taking action.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey took to social media to blame ICE in the wake of the shooting.
“The presence of federal immigration enforcement agents is causing chaos in our city. We’re demanding ICE to leave the city immediately,” he said. “We stand rock solid with our immigrant and refugee communities.”
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz also confirmed the shooting but took a less confrontational approach, calling for “folks to remain calm.”
He has previously compared ICE to Nazis.
Homeland Security officials have blamed such rhetoric for soaring rates of assaults on ICE personnel and increasing resistance by both migrant targets and U.S. citizens angered by Mr. Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said that Wednesday’s vehicle attack and shooting was the result of that kind of rhetoric.
“This is the direct consequence of constant attacks and demonization of our officers by sanctuary politicians who fuel and encourage rampant assaults on our law enforcement,” she said.
The department says ICE officers are facing a 1,300% increase in assaults and an 8,000% increase in death threats.
Migrants targeted by ICE for arrest and deportation have often resisted arrest, but the new Trump administration has seen a new phenomenon of bystanders and protesters attempting to interfere with the agency’s operations.
That has sparked violent clashes that have sometimes turned into riots. Homeland Security has responded aggressively, to the point that several federal judges have issued orders reeling in the government’s riot control tactics.
Department officials said attempts to use vehicles to ram officers have emerged as a particular threat.
“These vehicle rammings are domestic acts of terrorism,” Ms. Noem said.
