Words by ITV News Producer Hannah Ward-Glenton
A US ICE officer has shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis, triggering protests across the city and renewed discussions about President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Renee Nicole Good, 37, was shot in her car on a residential street south of the city’s downtown area on Wednesday, in front of a family member. Local police said she was shot in the head, and protests broke out in response to her death.
So what is ICE and what powers does it have?
What is ICE?
ICE stands for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The service was formed in 2003 in a major national security boost in the aftermath of the terror attacks on September 11, 2001.
The agency is responsible for federal homeland security investigations and for operations removing people who are in the US illegally. But the amount of raids ICE carries out has increased drastically during President Trump’s second term.
It is made up of more than 20,000 law enforcement and support officers, and is run by the agency’s director Todd Lyons. He was appointed in March 2025 by the Trump administration.
The force was created to uphold US immigration law within and outside the US and identify threats to public safety and people who “undermine the integrity” of the immigration system.
What powers do ICE officers have?
ICE officers do not need judicial warrants to make arrests and, like all other law enforcement officers, are entitled to initiate conversations, briefly detain non-citizens when they have reasonable suspicion that they are in the US illegally, and arrest those people.
ICE officers and agents are also allowed to detain and search people crossing the border.
In 2025, a total of 66,886 people were in ICE detention, and there were 527,459 enforcement and removal operations arrests, according to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
As of November 30, 73.6% of the detainees had no criminal convictions, as recorded by TRAC Immigration.
ICE is a federal law enforcement agency that falls under the United States Department of Homeland Security, which means that it does not fall under state or local government control.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz have both been critical of the shooting of Ms Good, but as they are elected within the state, they have no jurisdiction over ICE activity in the region.
State governors do have some powers over the National Guard however, and would be able to deploy its members if necessary.
How has ICE changed under Donald Trump?
Trump has given ICE dramatic new powers during his time as president, fulfilling his campaign promise of creating “the largest deportation program in American history.”
ICE officers are continuing to carry out routine operations as they did under previous administrations, but with increased powers. In July, the Trump administration gave ICE “total authorisation” to do whatever necessary “to protect itself”.
Trump also signed an executive order on January 20 that changed the priorities of Homeland Security Investigations, which typically looks into crimes such as child pornography, human trafficking and antiquities fraud.
It is now tasked with enforcing immigration laws “and other federal laws related to the illegal entry and unlawful presence of aliens” in the US as its “primary mission”.
ICE’s increased presence across US cities was initiated by Donald Trump last year following promises to crack down on illegal immigration.
The force has also made more of a point of publicising its efforts since Trump returned to power, including social media updates on the number of arrests with names and images of those arrested.
The administration is aiming for each of ICE’s 25 field offices to make at least 75 arrests a day, “but hopefully many more” as part of its crackdown on immigration, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller told ITV News’ US partner CNN.
Since January 23 2025, the agency has said it’s made more than 5,500 arrests. That’s an average of nearly 800 arrests daily.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said in a news conference that he had already issued warnings that somebody would get hurt as a result of the ICE presence in the state.
“We have been warning for weeks that the Trump administration’s dangerous and sensationalized operations are a threat to our public safety, that someone was going to get hurt,” he said on Wednesday.
Walz said we are seeing “the consequences of governance designed to generate fear”.
Have there been similar incidents?
The fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good is at least the fifth death to result from the immigration crackdown launched by the Trump administration last year.
Last September, ICE fatally shot another person outside Chicago. Two people have died after being struck by vehicles while fleeing immigration authorities, and a California farmworker fell from a greenhouse and broke his neck during an ICE raid last July.
No officers or agents have been charged in the deaths.
On September 12, 2025, ICE agents fatally shot Silvergio Villegas Gonzalez during a traffic stop in suburban Chicago. Relatives said the 38-year-old cook from Mexico was returning from dropping off one of his children at daycare.
At the time, the Department of Homeland Security alleged Villegas González, who they accused of being an illegal immigrant, evaded arrest and dragged an officer with his vehicle.
Homeland Security said the officer opened fire fearing for his life and was hospitalized for “serious injuries.” However, local police body camera videos showed the agent who shot Villegas González walking around afterward and dismissing his own injuries as “nothing major.”
A further non-fatal shooting occurred in Chicago last year. Marimar Martinez survived being shot five times by a border patrol agent, but was charged with a felony after Homeland Security officials accused her of trying to ram agents with her vehicle.
The case was dismissed after videos emerged that Martinez’s attorneys said showed an agent steering his vehicle into Martinez’s truck.
Why are people protesting against ICE?
Hundreds of people were out on the streets protesting against ICE after the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good, with many chanting “ICE out of Minnesota” and blowing whistles.
And it is not the first time people have been vocal in their dislike for the law enforcement authority and its immigration raids.
The Abolish ICE movement gained traction in 2018 when the Trump administration implemented the controversial family separation policy, which allowed migrant children to be separated from their parents or guardians in an attempt to curb illegal immigration.
Since then, many actions taken by ICE have been met with anti-ICE protests, such as the crackdowns in Los Angeles and Chicago last year.
Karen Bass, the mayor of Los Angeles, condemned the immigration raids at the time.
“I am deeply angered by what has taken place,” Bass said in a statement at the time. “These tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city. We will not stand for this.”
Trump’s moves to ramp up arrests and deportations has left immigrant communities across the US fearful.
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