NEW YORK,- An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer has shot dead a female protestor in Minneapolis, the Associated Press (AP) news agency reported.
According to the report, ICE officers demanded a woman, whose vehicle has stopped across the middle of the road, to leave her vehicle. When the car started to move forward, another ICE officer opened fire at the driver. The woman died of injuries on the site.
Describing the incident as “an act of domestic terrorism,” the US Department of Homeland Security said the woman was trying to run over ICE officers with her vehicle, and the officers acted in self-defense.
“Today, ICE officers in Minneapolis were conducting targeted operations when rioters began blocking ICE officers and one of these violent rioters weaponized her vehicle, attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them – an act of domestic terrorism,” the department’s Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin wrote on the X social network. “An ICE officer, fearing for his life, the lives of his fellow law enforcement and the safety of the public, fired defensive shots. <…> The alleged perpetrator was hit and is deceased.”
In turn, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey described ICE officers’ actions as “reckless,” telling ICE to “get <...> out of Minneapolis”.
Meanwhile, Governor of Minnesota Tim Walz demanded “a full, fair, and expeditious investigation to ensure accountability and justice.”
The US administration has been holding large-scale operations to detain illegal migrants since late 2025. The Minneapolis-St. Paul agglomeration is home to the largest Somali diaspora worldwide.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly stated that about 25 million people had entered the country illegally before he came to power, and has advocated stricter immigration policies. After the inauguration, the president introduced a state of emergency on the US border with Mexico. Trump promised to ensure the largest operation in American history to deport illegal migrants.
Trump’s political opponents accuse his administration of overly harsh actions against migrants.
