City and state leaders demand federal immigration enforcement leave Minnesota after violent incidents spark protests and a political crisis.
MINNEAPOLIS — A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot and wounded a man during an arrest attempt in North Minneapolis on Wednesday evening, marking the second shooting involving a federal immigration officer in the city in just seven days and escalating a volatile standoff between local leaders and federal authorities.
According to Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara, the incident began as an attempted traffic stop by the ICE agent, which led to a physical struggle outside a residence. “During the struggle, the federal agent discharged his weapon, striking one adult male,” O’Hara stated. The man was hospitalized with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to the leg.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, provided a different account on social media, identifying the man as “an illegal alien from Venezuela” who resisted arrest. The DHS claimed that during the altercation, two other individuals emerged from a nearby apartment and assaulted the officer with a snow shovel and broom handle, prompting the agent to fire “a defensive shot to defend his life.”
The shooting immediately drew a crowd of angry protesters to the scene. Authorities reported that some protesters threw fireworks at police officers, heightening tensions in a community already on edge.
The incident occurred against the backdrop of ongoing protests sparked by the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Minneapolis resident Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent on January 7. In response to the latest violence, the City of Minneapolis posted a statement on X declaring, “We understand there is anger,” and reiterating its demand “that ICE leave the city and the state immediately.”
The rapid succession of shootings has ignited a fierce political conflict. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey condemned the federal operations, telling reporters, “This is not sustainable. We have ICE agents throughout our city and throughout our state who, along with Border Patrol, are creating chaos. This is not the path that we should be on right now in America.”
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz echoed the sentiment in a video statement, decrying “the chaos, disruption and trauma the federal government is raining down on our community.” He criticized the tactics of “armed, masked, undertrained” ICE agents conducting door-to-door interrogations.
As investigations into both shootings proceed, the deepening rift between Minnesota officials and federal immigration enforcement points to a growing crisis over policing and jurisdiction, with no immediate resolution in sight.
