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Tag: Kristi Noem

  • Noem names Charles Wall ICE deputy director following Sheahan resignation

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    Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem announced Thursday via X that longtime U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) attorney Charles Wall will serve as the agency’s new deputy director as enforcement operations intensify nationwide.

    “Effective immediately, Charles Wall will serve as the Deputy Director of @ICEGov,” wrote Noem. “For the last year, Mr. Wall served as ICE’s Principal Legal Advisor, playing a key role in helping us deliver historic results in arresting and removing the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens from American neighborhoods.”

    Wall replaces Madison Sheahan, who stepped down earlier Thursday to pursue a congressional run in Ohio. Her departure left ICE leadership in transition at a moment when the agency has faced increasing resistance to enforcement efforts and heightened threats against officers in the field.

    The move comes as the Trump administration intensifies immigration enforcement against murderers, rapists, gang members and suspected terrorists living illegally in the U.S., even as sanctuary jurisdictions and activist groups seek to block or disrupt ICE actions.

    DHS DEMANDS MN LEADERS HONOR ICE DETAINERS, ALLEGES HUNDREDS OF CRIMINAL ALIENS HAVE BEEN RELEASED UNDER WALZ

    DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced Thursday that Charles Wall will serve as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deputy director. (Getty Images/Alex Brandon)

    ICE officials said Wall brings more than a decade of experience inside the agency.

    “Mr. Wall has served as an ICE attorney for 14 years and is a forward-leaning, strategic thinker who understands the importance of prioritizing the removal of murderers, rapists, pedophiles, gang members, and terrorists from our country,” Noem added.

    Wall most recently served as ICE’s principal legal advisor, overseeing more than 3,500 attorneys and support staff who represent the DHS in removal proceedings and provide legal counsel to senior agency leadership. 

    He has served at ICE since 2012, previously holding senior counsel roles in New Orleans, according to DHS.

    ‘WORST OF THE WORST’: ICE ARRESTS CHILD PREDATOR, VIOLENT CRIMINALS AMID SURGE IN ANTI-AGENT ATTACKS

    madison-sheahan

    Madison Sheahan stepped down as ICE deputy director on Thursday. (Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

    DHS has described the appointment as part of a broader effort to ensure ICE leadership is aligned with the Trump administration’s public safety priorities.

    The leadership change comes as ICE operations have drawn national attention following protests in Minneapolis after the ICE-involved fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good on Jan. 7.

    Administration officials have repeatedly emphasized that ICE’s focus remains on what they describe as the “worst of the worst” criminal illegal aliens, warning that local resistance and political opposition increase risks for officers carrying out enforcement duties.

    ICE has recently created a specific landing page where these ‘worst of the worst’ offenders can be viewed with names and nationalities attached.

    ICE recruitment

    DHS has described the appointment as part of a broader effort to ensure ICE leadership is aligned with the Trump administration’s public safety priorities. (Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)

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    “I look forward to working with him in his new role to make America safe again,” Noem concluded.

    ICE did not immediately provide additional comment to Fox News Digital.

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  • Emergency hearing requested after Reps. Craig, Morrison, Omar blocked from Minneapolis ICE facility

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    The Trump administration secretly reimposed a policy limiting Congress members’ access to immigration detention facilities a day after a federal immigration officer fatally shot a woman in Minneapolis, attorneys for several congressional Democrats said Monday in asking a federal judge to intervene.

    Three Democratic members of Congress from Minnesota were blocked from visiting an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility near Minneapolis on Saturday, three days after an ICE officer shot and killed U.S. citizen Renee Good in the city.

    Last month, U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb in Washington, D.C., temporarily blocked ICE from enforcing policies limiting Congress members’ access to immigration detention facilities. In a court filing on Monday, plaintiffs’ lawyers asked Cobb to hold an emergency hearing and decide if the duplicate notice policy violates her order.

    Cobb ruled on Dec. 17 that it is likely illegal for ICE to demand a week’s notice from members of Congress seeking to visit and observe conditions in ICE facilities. The judge said the seven-day notice requirement likely exceeds the Department of Homeland Security’s statutory authority.

    The attorneys asking Cobb for an emergency hearing say the matter is urgent because members of Congress are negotiating funding for DHS and ICE for the next fiscal year with DHS’s annual appropriations due to expire on Jan. 30.

    “This is a critical moment for oversight, and members of Congress must be able to conduct oversight at ICE detention facilities, without notice, to obtain urgent and essential information for ongoing funding negotiations,” the lawyers wrote.

    Cobb didn’t immediately rule on the plaintiffs’ hearing request. Government attorneys also didn’t immediately respond in writing to it.

    Representative Kelly Morrison, a Democrat from Minnesota, from left, Representative Ilhan Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota, and Representative Angie Craig, a Democrat from Minnesota, arrive for an oversight visit at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in St. Paul, Minnesota, US, on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. The investigation into the killing of a US citizen by an ICE agent in Minneapolis this week is being complicated by clashes between federal and local officials, with the FBI taking control over the objections of Governor Tim Walz.

    Victor J. Blue / Bloomberg via Getty Images


    On Saturday, U.S. Reps. Ilhan Omar, Kelly Morrison and Angie Craig attempted to tour the ICE facility in the Minneapolis federal building. They initially were allowed to enter but then told they had to leave about 10 minutes later.

    Officials who turned them away cited a newly imposed seven-day-notice policy for congressional oversight visits. Last Thursday, a day after Good’s death, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem secretly signed a new memorandum reinstating the same seven-day notice requirement, according to the plaintiffs’ lawyers.

    Cobb, who was nominated to the bench by Democratic President Joe Biden, ruled last month in favor of 12 other members of Congress who sued to challenge ICE’s amended visitor policies after they were denied entry to detention facilities. Their lawsuit accused Republican President Donald Trump’s administration of obstructing congressional oversight of the centers during its nationwide surge in immigration enforcement operations.

    Government attorneys had argued that the plaintiffs didn’t have legal standing to bring their claims. They also said it’s merely speculative for the legislators to be concerned that conditions in ICE facilities change over the course of a week. But the judge rejected those arguments.

    “The changing conditions within ICE facilities means that it is likely impossible for a Member of Congress to reconstruct the conditions at a facility on the day that they initially sought to enter,” Cobb wrote.

    A law bars DHS from using appropriated general funds to prevent members of Congress from entering DHS facilities for oversight purposes. Plaintiffs’ attorneys from the Democracy Forward Foundation said the administration hasn’t shown that none of those funds are being used to implement the latest notice policy.

    NOTE: The original airdate of the video attached to this article is Jan. 10, 2026.

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  • Noem says more federal agents coming to Minnesota, protests continue days after fatal ICE shooting

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    Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says hundreds more federal agents are being sent to Minnesota as protests continue there and across the country, demanding justice after an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Good. Nicole Sganga has more.

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  • Protests against ICE planned across the US after shootings in Minneapolis and Portland, Oregon

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    Protesters against immigration enforcement actions took to the streets in cities and towns across the country on Saturday after a federal officer shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis and another shot and wounded two people in Portland, Oregon.Video above: Protesters and counterprotesters clash in Minneapolis day after ICE shootingThe demonstrations come as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security pushes forward in the Twin Cities with what it calls its biggest-ever immigration enforcement operation. President Donald Trump’s administration has said both shootings were acts of self-defense against drivers who “weaponized” their vehicles to attack officers. Steven Eubanks, 51, said he felt compelled to get out of his comfort zone and attend a Saturday protest in Durham, North Carolina, because of what he called the “horrifying” killing in Minneapolis.”We can’t allow it,” Eubanks said. “We have to stand up.”Video below: Protests intensify after ICE shooting of Renee GoodIndivisible, a social movement organization that formed to resist the Trump administration, said hundreds of protests were scheduled in Texas, Kansas, New Mexico, Ohio, Florida and other states. Many were dubbed “ICE Out for Good” using the acronym for the federal agency Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Indivisible and its local chapters organized protests in all 50 states last year.In Minneapolis, a coalition of migrant rights groups called for a demonstration at Powderhorn Park, a large green space about half a mile from the residential neighborhood where 37-year-old Renee Good was shot on Wednesday. They said the rally and march would celebrate Good’s life and call for an “end to deadly terror on our streets.”Protests held in the neighborhood have so far been largely peaceful, in contrast to the violence that hit Minneapolis in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd in 2020. Near the airport, some confrontations erupted on Thursday and Friday between smaller groups of protesters and officers guarding the federal building used as a base for the Twin Cities crackdown. On Friday night, a protest outside a Minneapolis hotel that attracted about 1,000 people turned violent as people threw ice, snow and rocks at officers, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said during a news conference Saturday. One officer suffered minor injuries after being struck with a piece of ice, O’Hara said. Twenty-nine people were cited and released, he said.Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey stressed that while most protests have been peaceful, those who cause damage to property or put others in danger will be arrested.The Trump administration has been surging thousands of federal officers to Minnesota under a sweeping new crackdown tied in part to allegations of fraud involving Somali residents. More than 2,000 officers were taking part. Some officers moved in after abruptly pulling out of Louisiana, where they were part of another operation that started last month and was expected to last until February. Associated Press writer Allen Breed contributed to this report from Durham, North Carolina.

    Protesters against immigration enforcement actions took to the streets in cities and towns across the country on Saturday after a federal officer shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis and another shot and wounded two people in Portland, Oregon.

    Video above: Protesters and counterprotesters clash in Minneapolis day after ICE shooting

    The demonstrations come as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security pushes forward in the Twin Cities with what it calls its biggest-ever immigration enforcement operation. President Donald Trump’s administration has said both shootings were acts of self-defense against drivers who “weaponized” their vehicles to attack officers.

    Steven Eubanks, 51, said he felt compelled to get out of his comfort zone and attend a Saturday protest in Durham, North Carolina, because of what he called the “horrifying” killing in Minneapolis.

    “We can’t allow it,” Eubanks said. “We have to stand up.”

    Video below: Protests intensify after ICE shooting of Renee Good

    Indivisible, a social movement organization that formed to resist the Trump administration, said hundreds of protests were scheduled in Texas, Kansas, New Mexico, Ohio, Florida and other states. Many were dubbed “ICE Out for Good” using the acronym for the federal agency Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Indivisible and its local chapters organized protests in all 50 states last year.

    In Minneapolis, a coalition of migrant rights groups called for a demonstration at Powderhorn Park, a large green space about half a mile from the residential neighborhood where 37-year-old Renee Good was shot on Wednesday. They said the rally and march would celebrate Good’s life and call for an “end to deadly terror on our streets.”

    Protests held in the neighborhood have so far been largely peaceful, in contrast to the violence that hit Minneapolis in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd in 2020. Near the airport, some confrontations erupted on Thursday and Friday between smaller groups of protesters and officers guarding the federal building used as a base for the Twin Cities crackdown.

    NurPhoto

    In St. Paul, Minnesota, Gov. Tim Walz and First Lady Gwen Walz join a moment of silence with clergy and demonstrators at the Minnesota State Capitol during a vigil urging accountability and compassion after an ICE agent shot and killed a woman this week.

    On Friday night, a protest outside a Minneapolis hotel that attracted about 1,000 people turned violent as people threw ice, snow and rocks at officers, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said during a news conference Saturday. One officer suffered minor injuries after being struck with a piece of ice, O’Hara said. Twenty-nine people were cited and released, he said.

    Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey stressed that while most protests have been peaceful, those who cause damage to property or put others in danger will be arrested.

    The Trump administration has been surging thousands of federal officers to Minnesota under a sweeping new crackdown tied in part to allegations of fraud involving Somali residents. More than 2,000 officers were taking part.

    Some officers moved in after abruptly pulling out of Louisiana, where they were part of another operation that started last month and was expected to last until February.

    Associated Press writer Allen Breed contributed to this report from Durham, North Carolina.

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  • Graphic: New video shows confrontation between ICE officer, Renee Good before fatal shooting

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    A Minnesota prosecutor on Friday called on the public to share with investigators any recordings and evidence connected to the fatal shooting of Renee Good as a new video emerged showing the final moments of her encounter with an immigration officer.Warning: The video above may be graphic to some viewers. Viewer discretion is advised.The Minneapolis killing and a separate shooting in Portland, Oregon, a day later by the Border Patrol have set off protests in multiple cities and denunciations of immigration enforcement tactics by the U.S. government. The Trump administration has defended the officer who shot Good in her car, saying he was protecting himself and fellow agents.The reaction to the shooting has largely been focused on witness cellphone video of the encounter. A new, 47-second video that was published online by a Minnesota-based conservative news site, Alpha News, and later reposted on social media by the Department of Homeland Security shows the shooting from the perspective of ICE officer Jonathan Ross, who fired the shots.Video below: Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey holds press conference FridaySirens blaring in the background, he approaches Good’s vehicle in the middle of the road while apparently filming on his cellphone. At the same time, Good’s wife also was recording the encounter and can be seen walking around the vehicle and approaching the officer. A series of exchanges occurred:”That’s fine, I’m not mad at you,” Good says as the officer passes by her door. She has one hand on the steering wheel and the other outside the open driver side window.”U.S. citizen, former f—ing veteran,” says her wife, standing outside the passenger side of the SUV holding up her phone. “You wanna come at us, you wanna come at us, I say go get yourself some lunch big boy.”Other officers at the scene are approaching the driver’s side of the car at about the same time and one says: “Get out of the car, get out of the f—ing car.” Good reverses briefly, then turns the steering wheel toward the passenger side as she drives ahead and Ross opens fire.The camera becomes unsteady and points toward the sky and then returns to the street view showing Good’s SUV careening away.”F—— b—,” someone at the scene says.A crashing sound is heard as Good’s vehicle smashes into others parked on the street.Federal agencies have encouraged officers to document encounters in which people may attempt to interfere with enforcement actions, but policing experts have cautioned that recording on a handheld device can complicate already volatile situations by occupying an officer’s hands and narrowing focus at moments when rapid decision-making is required.Under an ICE policy directive, officers and agents are expected to activate body-worn cameras at the start of enforcement activities and to record throughout interactions, and footage must be kept for review in serious incidents such as deaths or use-of-force cases. The Department of Homeland Security has not responded to questions about whether the officer who opened fire or any of the others who were on the scene were wearing body cameras.Homeland Security says video shows self-defenseVice President JD Vance and Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in posts on X that the new video backs their contention that the officer fired in self-defense.“Many of you have been told this law enforcement officer wasn’t hit by a car, wasn’t being harassed, and murdered an innocent woman,” Vance said. “The reality is that his life was endangered and he fired in self defense.”Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has said any self-defense argument is “garbage.”Policing experts said the video didn’t change their thoughts on the use-of-force but did raise additional questions about the officer’s training.“Now that we can see he’s holding a gun in one hand and a cellphone in the other filming, I want to see the officer training that permits that,” said Geoff Alpert, a criminology professor at the University of South Carolina.The video demonstrates that the officers didn’t perceive Good to be a threat, said John P. Gross, a professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School who has written extensively about officers shooting at moving vehicles.“If you are an officer who views this woman as a threat, you don’t have one hand on a cellphone. You don’t walk around this supposed weapon, casually filming,” Gross said. Attempts to reach Ross at phone numbers and email addresses associated with him were not successful. Prosecutor asks for video and evidenceMeanwhile, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said that although her office has collaborated effectively with the FBI in past cases, she is concerned by the Trump administration’s decision to bar state and local agencies from playing any role in the investigation into Good’s killing.She also said the officer who shot Good in the head does not have complete legal immunity, as Vice President JD Vance declared.Video above: VP Vance addresses, answers questions on ICE shooting in Minneapolis”We do have jurisdiction to make this decision with what happened in this case,” Moriarty said at a news conference. “It does not matter that it was a federal law enforcement agent.”Moriarty said her office would post a link for the public to submit footage of the shooting, even though she acknowledged that she wasn’t sure what legal outcome submissions might produce.Good’s wife, Becca Good, released a statement to Minnesota Public Radio on Friday saying, “kindness radiated out of her.””On Wednesday, January 7th, we stopped to support our neighbors. We had whistles. They had guns,” Becca Good said.”I am now left to raise our son and to continue teaching him, as Renee believed, that there are people building a better world for him,” she wrote.The reaction to Good’s shooting was immediate in the city where police killed George Floyd in 2020, with hundreds of protesters converging on the shooting scene and the school district canceling classes for the rest of the week as a precaution and offering an online option through Feb. 12.On Friday, protesters were outside a federal facility serving as a hub for the immigration crackdown that began Tuesday in Minneapolis and St. Paul. That evening, hundreds protested outside a hotel in downtown Minneapolis, banging on pots and drums and carrying signs that said, “ICE Out” and “Don’t Shoot.”Video below: Minnesota law enforcement blocked from federal investigation into deadly ICE shooting Shooting in PortlandThe Portland shooting happened outside a hospital Thursday. A federal border officer shot and wounded a man and woman in a vehicle, identified by the Department of Homeland Security as Venezuela nationals Luis David Nico Moncada and Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras. Police said they were in stable condition Friday after surgery, with DHS saying Nico Moncada was taken into FBI custodyDHS defended the actions of its officers in Portland, saying the shooting occurred after the driver with alleged gang ties tried to “weaponize” his vehicle to hit them. It said no officers were injured.Portland Police Chief Bob Day confirmed that the two people shot had “some nexus” to Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang. Day said they came to the attention of police during an investigation of a July shooting believed to have been carried out by gang members, but they were not identified as suspects.The chief said any gang affiliation did not necessarily justify the shooting by U.S. Border Patrol. The Oregon Department of Justice said it would investigate.The biggest crackdown yetThe Minneapolis shooting happened on the second day of the immigration crackdown in the Twin Cities, which Homeland Security said is the biggest immigration enforcement operation ever. More than 2,000 officers are taking part and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said they have made more than 1,500 arrests.The government is also shifting immigration officers to Minneapolis from sweeps in Louisiana, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. This represents a pivot, as the Louisiana crackdown that began in December had been expected to last into February.Good’s death — at least the fifth tied to immigration sweeps since President Donald Trump took office — has resonated far beyond Minneapolis, with protests planned for this weekend, according to Indivisible, a group formed to resist the Trump administration.A deadly encounter seen from multiple anglesNoem, Trump and others in his administration have repeatedly characterized the Minneapolis shooting as an act of self-defense and cast Good as a villain, suggesting she used her vehicle as a weapon to attack the officer who shot her.Several bystanders captured video of Good’s killing, which happened in a neighborhood south of downtown. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said any self-defense argument is “garbage.”The federal agent who fatally shot Good is an Iraq War veteran who has served for nearly two decades in the Border Patrol and ICE, according to records obtained by AP.Noem has not publicly named him, but a Homeland Security spokesperson said her description of his injuries last summer refers to an incident in Bloomington, Minnesota, in which court documents identify him as Ross.Ross got his arm stuck in the window of a vehicle whose driver was fleeing arrest on an immigration violation. Ross was dragged and fired his Taser. A jury found the driver guilty of assault. ___Associated Press reporters Steve Karnowski and Mark Vancleave in Minneapolis; Ed White in Detroit; Valerie Gonzalez in Brownsville, Texas; Graham Lee Brewer in Norman, Oklahoma; Michael Biesecker in Washington; Jim Mustian and Safiyah Riddle in New York; Ryan Foley in Iowa City, Iowa; and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.

    A Minnesota prosecutor on Friday called on the public to share with investigators any recordings and evidence connected to the fatal shooting of Renee Good as a new video emerged showing the final moments of her encounter with an immigration officer.

    Warning: The video above may be graphic to some viewers. Viewer discretion is advised.

    The Minneapolis killing and a separate shooting in Portland, Oregon, a day later by the Border Patrol have set off protests in multiple cities and denunciations of immigration enforcement tactics by the U.S. government. The Trump administration has defended the officer who shot Good in her car, saying he was protecting himself and fellow agents.

    The reaction to the shooting has largely been focused on witness cellphone video of the encounter. A new, 47-second video that was published online by a Minnesota-based conservative news site, Alpha News, and later reposted on social media by the Department of Homeland Security shows the shooting from the perspective of ICE officer Jonathan Ross, who fired the shots.

    Video below: Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey holds press conference Friday

    Sirens blaring in the background, he approaches Good’s vehicle in the middle of the road while apparently filming on his cellphone. At the same time, Good’s wife also was recording the encounter and can be seen walking around the vehicle and approaching the officer. A series of exchanges occurred:

    “That’s fine, I’m not mad at you,” Good says as the officer passes by her door. She has one hand on the steering wheel and the other outside the open driver side window.

    “U.S. citizen, former f—ing veteran,” says her wife, standing outside the passenger side of the SUV holding up her phone. “You wanna come at us, you wanna come at us, I say go get yourself some lunch big boy.”

    Other officers at the scene are approaching the driver’s side of the car at about the same time and one says: “Get out of the car, get out of the f—ing car.” Good reverses briefly, then turns the steering wheel toward the passenger side as she drives ahead and Ross opens fire.

    The camera becomes unsteady and points toward the sky and then returns to the street view showing Good’s SUV careening away.

    “F—— b—,” someone at the scene says.

    A crashing sound is heard as Good’s vehicle smashes into others parked on the street.

    Federal agencies have encouraged officers to document encounters in which people may attempt to interfere with enforcement actions, but policing experts have cautioned that recording on a handheld device can complicate already volatile situations by occupying an officer’s hands and narrowing focus at moments when rapid decision-making is required.

    Under an ICE policy directive, officers and agents are expected to activate body-worn cameras at the start of enforcement activities and to record throughout interactions, and footage must be kept for review in serious incidents such as deaths or use-of-force cases. The Department of Homeland Security has not responded to questions about whether the officer who opened fire or any of the others who were on the scene were wearing body cameras.

    Homeland Security says video shows self-defense

    Vice President JD Vance and Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in posts on X that the new video backs their contention that the officer fired in self-defense.

    “Many of you have been told this law enforcement officer wasn’t hit by a car, wasn’t being harassed, and murdered an innocent woman,” Vance said. “The reality is that his life was endangered and he fired in self defense.”

    Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has said any self-defense argument is “garbage.”

    Policing experts said the video didn’t change their thoughts on the use-of-force but did raise additional questions about the officer’s training.

    “Now that we can see he’s holding a gun in one hand and a cellphone in the other filming, I want to see the officer training that permits that,” said Geoff Alpert, a criminology professor at the University of South Carolina.

    The video demonstrates that the officers didn’t perceive Good to be a threat, said John P. Gross, a professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School who has written extensively about officers shooting at moving vehicles.

    “If you are an officer who views this woman as a threat, you don’t have one hand on a cellphone. You don’t walk around this supposed weapon, casually filming,” Gross said.

    Attempts to reach Ross at phone numbers and email addresses associated with him were not successful.

    Prosecutor asks for video and evidence

    Meanwhile, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said that although her office has collaborated effectively with the FBI in past cases, she is concerned by the Trump administration’s decision to bar state and local agencies from playing any role in the investigation into Good’s killing.

    She also said the officer who shot Good in the head does not have complete legal immunity, as Vice President JD Vance declared.

    Video above: VP Vance addresses, answers questions on ICE shooting in Minneapolis

    “We do have jurisdiction to make this decision with what happened in this case,” Moriarty said at a news conference. “It does not matter that it was a federal law enforcement agent.”

    Moriarty said her office would post a link for the public to submit footage of the shooting, even though she acknowledged that she wasn’t sure what legal outcome submissions might produce.

    Good’s wife, Becca Good, released a statement to Minnesota Public Radio on Friday saying, “kindness radiated out of her.”

    “On Wednesday, January 7th, we stopped to support our neighbors. We had whistles. They had guns,” Becca Good said.

    “I am now left to raise our son and to continue teaching him, as Renee believed, that there are people building a better world for him,” she wrote.

    The reaction to Good’s shooting was immediate in the city where police killed George Floyd in 2020, with hundreds of protesters converging on the shooting scene and the school district canceling classes for the rest of the week as a precaution and offering an online option through Feb. 12.

    On Friday, protesters were outside a federal facility serving as a hub for the immigration crackdown that began Tuesday in Minneapolis and St. Paul. That evening, hundreds protested outside a hotel in downtown Minneapolis, banging on pots and drums and carrying signs that said, “ICE Out” and “Don’t Shoot.”

    Video below: Minnesota law enforcement blocked from federal investigation into deadly ICE shooting

    Shooting in Portland

    The Portland shooting happened outside a hospital Thursday. A federal border officer shot and wounded a man and woman in a vehicle, identified by the Department of Homeland Security as Venezuela nationals Luis David Nico Moncada and Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras. Police said they were in stable condition Friday after surgery, with DHS saying Nico Moncada was taken into FBI custody

    DHS defended the actions of its officers in Portland, saying the shooting occurred after the driver with alleged gang ties tried to “weaponize” his vehicle to hit them. It said no officers were injured.

    Portland Police Chief Bob Day confirmed that the two people shot had “some nexus” to Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang. Day said they came to the attention of police during an investigation of a July shooting believed to have been carried out by gang members, but they were not identified as suspects.

    The chief said any gang affiliation did not necessarily justify the shooting by U.S. Border Patrol. The Oregon Department of Justice said it would investigate.

    The biggest crackdown yet

    The Minneapolis shooting happened on the second day of the immigration crackdown in the Twin Cities, which Homeland Security said is the biggest immigration enforcement operation ever. More than 2,000 officers are taking part and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said they have made more than 1,500 arrests.

    The government is also shifting immigration officers to Minneapolis from sweeps in Louisiana, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. This represents a pivot, as the Louisiana crackdown that began in December had been expected to last into February.

    Good’s death — at least the fifth tied to immigration sweeps since President Donald Trump took office — has resonated far beyond Minneapolis, with protests planned for this weekend, according to Indivisible, a group formed to resist the Trump administration.

    A deadly encounter seen from multiple angles

    Noem, Trump and others in his administration have repeatedly characterized the Minneapolis shooting as an act of self-defense and cast Good as a villain, suggesting she used her vehicle as a weapon to attack the officer who shot her.

    Several bystanders captured video of Good’s killing, which happened in a neighborhood south of downtown. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said any self-defense argument is “garbage.”

    The federal agent who fatally shot Good is an Iraq War veteran who has served for nearly two decades in the Border Patrol and ICE, according to records obtained by AP.

    Noem has not publicly named him, but a Homeland Security spokesperson said her description of his injuries last summer refers to an incident in Bloomington, Minnesota, in which court documents identify him as Ross.

    Ross got his arm stuck in the window of a vehicle whose driver was fleeing arrest on an immigration violation. Ross was dragged and fired his Taser. A jury found the driver guilty of assault.

    ___

    Associated Press reporters Steve Karnowski and Mark Vancleave in Minneapolis; Ed White in Detroit; Valerie Gonzalez in Brownsville, Texas; Graham Lee Brewer in Norman, Oklahoma; Michael Biesecker in Washington; Jim Mustian and Safiyah Riddle in New York; Ryan Foley in Iowa City, Iowa; and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.

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  • Illinois Rep. Robin Kelly filing articles of impeachment for DHS Secretary Kristi Noem

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    Illinois Congresswoman Robin Kelly announced plans to file articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday. 

    Kelly made the announcement after an ICE agent shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis Wednesday morning. Kelly was also vocally opposed to the federal immigration operations in Chicago dubbed Operation Midway Blitz, which also involved two shootings by ICE and Customs and Border Patrol agents, one of which was fatal

    Kelly released a statement on Wednesday night, saying, “I’ve had enough.” 

    “[Noem] has turned ICE into a rogue force, violating the Constitution, tearing families apart, and leaving death in her wake,”  she wrote in part. “From Chicago to Minneapolis, her recklessness cost lives, including Renee Nicole Good. This isn’t just dangerous—it’s impeachable. I’m fighting back.”  

    Speaking to CBS News Chicago Thursday morning, Kelly called the shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis “murder” and said she is ready to take action. 

    “We just can’t sit back, we just can’t sit on the sidelines,” Kelly said. 



    Congresswoman Robin Kelly to file articles of impeachment against DHS Secretary Kristi Noem

    04:15

    Kelly said she will file three articles against Noem; one saying she willfully obstructed congressional oversight and withheld appropriate funds in violation of her constitutional law, a second accusing Noem of compromising the due process of U.S. citizens and directing unconstitutional actions, and a third alleging Noem abused her office for personal benefit and steered federal dollars to associates. 

    Kelly said her team has been working on this action since last year and they are ready to go ahead with the filing on Thursday, despite Republicans holding a majority in the House. The effort isn’t expected to succeed; even if the impeachment is approved on the House floor with a Republican majority, it would then go to the Senate where it would likely be dead on arrival, similar to the impeachment of then-DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in 2024. The Senate quickly rejected the charges against Mayorkas, ending a months-long effort by Republicans to punish him for his policies on the southern U.S. border. 

    Lawmakers in Illinois and Minnesota swiftly condemned Wednesday’s shooting, with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey both calling for federal agents to leave the Twin Cities and the state immediately.

    “To Donald Trump and Kristi Noem: You’ve done enough,” Walz said at a press conference Wednesday afternoon. “There is nothing more important than Minnesotans’ safety.”

    Frey called the narrative DHS put forth in the immediate wake of the shooting “bull***t” and put his request for agents to leave even more bluntly than Gov. Walz.

    “Get the f*** out of Minneapolis,” he said.

    Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson issued a statement in solidarity with Minneapolis, and invoked the fatal shooting of 38-year-old undocumented father Silvero Villegas-Gonzalez in Franklin Park last fall.

    “Under very similar conditions, in his car, right after dropping his children off at school. And just as they tried to do today in Minnesota, the Trump administration lied about what happened and spewed misinformation in an attempt to distort the public’s understanding,” Johnson said. “The point of this operation of ICE raids and of this President’s rhetoric is to divide us and to dehumanize our neighbors. Do not let them change the part of your soul that sees a fellow human being when you look at your neighbor.” 

    In the immediately aftermath of the shooting, Noem and DHS claimed the agent shot Good in self-defense, accusing her of domestic terrorism. DHS deployed similar narratives against Villegas-Gonzalez and 31-year-old Marimar Martinez, who was shot by CBP agents after blocking their cars in Brighton Park last fall. Federal prosecutors even secured a grand jury indictment against Martinez for attempting to kill a federal agent before dropping the charges a few weeks later

    CBS News Chicago reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment, which responded with the following statement: “How silly during a serious time. As ICE officers are facing a 1,300% increase in assaults against them, Rep. Kelly is more focused on showmanship and fundraising clicks than actually cleaning up her crime-ridden Chicago district. We hope she would get serious about doing her job to protect American people, which is what this Department is doing under Secretary Noem.”

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  • Minnesota governor says state must play a role in investigation after ICE agent fatally shoots woman

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    Minnesota must play a role in investigating the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer, Gov. Tim Walz insisted Thursday, pushing back against the Trump administration’s decision to keep the investigation solely in federal hands.A day after the unidentified ICE officer shot and killed 37-year-old mother of three Renee Good as she tried to drive away on a snowy Minneapolis street, tensions remained high, with dozens of protesters venting their outrage outside of a federal facility that’s serving as a hub for the administration’s latest immigration crackdown on a major city.Gregory Bovino, a senior U.S. Customs and Border Patrol official who has been the face of the crackdowns in other cities, walked along the long line of officers, looking at the crowd as protesters yelled at him, including a man who shouted, “Border Patrol should be along the border!” Many activists tried to converse with the officers and persuade them that the job they were doing was wrong.“We should be horrified,” protester Shanta Hejmadi said as demonstrators shouted “No More ICE,” “Go Home Nazis,” and other slogans at a line of Border Patrol officers, who responded with tear gas and pepper spray. “We should be saddened that our government is waging war on our citizens. We should get out and say no. What else can we do?”Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, President Donald Trump and others in his administration characterized the shooting as an act of self-defense and cast Good as a villain, suggesting she used her vehicle as a weapon to attack the officer who shot her.Vice President JD Vance weighed in Thursday, saying the shooting was justified and that Good was a “victim of left-wing ideology.”“I can believe that her death is a tragedy while also recognizing that it is a tragedy of her own making,” Vance said, noting that the officer who killed her was injured while making an arrest last June.But state and local officials and protesters rejected that characterization, with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey saying video of the shooting shows the self-defense argument to be “garbage.” Video below: VP Vance addresses, answers questions on ICE shooting in Minneapolis An immigration crackdown quickly turns deadlyThe shooting happened on Day 2 of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown on the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, which the Department of Homeland Security said is the biggest immigration enforcement operation ever. More than 2,000 officers taking part, and Noem said they have already made more than 1,500 arrests.It provoked an immediate response in the city where police killed George Floyd in 2020, with hundreds of people turning up to the scene to vent their outrage at the ICE officers and the school district later canceling classes for the rest of the week as a precaution.Good’s death — at least the fifth tied to an immigration crackdown under Trump — has resonated far beyond Minneapolis, as anti-immigration enforcement protests took place or were expected Thursday in New York City, Seattle, Detroit, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Antonio, New Orleans and Chicago. Protests were also scheduled for later this week in Arizona, North Carolina, and New Hampshire.Video above: Witness describes Minneapolis shooting involving ICE officerWho will investigate?On Thursday, the Minnesota agency that investigates officer-involved shootings said it was informed that the FBI and U.S. Justice Department would not work with the department, effectively ending any role for the state to determine if crimes were committed. Noem said the state has no jurisdiction.“Without complete access to the evidence, witnesses and information collected, we cannot meet the investigative standards that Minnesota law and the public demands,” Drew Evans, the bureau’s superintendent, said.Walz publicly demanded that the state be allowed to take part, repeatedly emphasizing that it would be “very difficult for Minnesotans” to accept that an investigation that excludes the state could be fair.Walz publicly demanded that the state be allowed to take part, repeatedly emphasizing that it would be “very, very difficult for Minnesotans” to accept that an investigation that excludes the state could be fair.Noem, he said, was “judge, jury and basically executioner” during her public comments about the confrontation.“People in positions of power have already passed judgment, from the president to the vice president to Kristi Noem — have stood and told you things that are verifiably false, verifiably inaccurate,” the governor said.Frey, the mayor, told The Associated Press: “We want to make sure that there is a check on this administration to ensure that this investigation is done for justice, not for the sake of a cover-up.”Video above: Kristi Noem questioned on ICE shootingA deadly encounter seen from several anglesSeveral bystanders captured footage of Good’s killing, which happened in a neighborhood south of downtown.The videos show an officer approaching an SUV stopped across the middle of the road, demanding the driver open the door and grabbing the handle. The Honda Pilot begins to pull forward, and a different ICE officer standing in front of it pulls his weapon and immediately fires at least two shots at close range, jumping back as the vehicle moves toward him.Graphic video shows woman shot by ICE agent in MinneapolisIt isn’t clear from the videos if the vehicle makes contact with the officer, and there is no indication of whether the woman had interactions with ICE agents earlier. After the shooting the SUV speeds into two cars parked on a curb before crashing to a stop.The mayor said he’s working with community leaders to try to keep any protests peaceful.“The top thing that this Trump administration is looking for is an excuse to come in with militarized force, to further occupy our streets, to cause more chaos, to have this kind of civil war on the streets of America in a Democratically run city,” Frey told the AP. “We cannot give them what they want.” ___Associated Press reporters Steve Karnowski, Giovanna Dell’Orto and Mark Vancleave in Minneapolis, Ed White in Detroit, Valerie Gonzalez in Brownsville, Texas, Graham Lee Brewer in Norman, Oklahoma, Michael Biesecker In Washington, Jim Mustian in New York and Ryan Foley in Iowa City, Iowa contributed.

    Minnesota must play a role in investigating the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer, Gov. Tim Walz insisted Thursday, pushing back against the Trump administration’s decision to keep the investigation solely in federal hands.

    A day after the unidentified ICE officer shot and killed 37-year-old mother of three Renee Good as she tried to drive away on a snowy Minneapolis street, tensions remained high, with dozens of protesters venting their outrage outside of a federal facility that’s serving as a hub for the administration’s latest immigration crackdown on a major city.

    Gregory Bovino, a senior U.S. Customs and Border Patrol official who has been the face of the crackdowns in other cities, walked along the long line of officers, looking at the crowd as protesters yelled at him, including a man who shouted, “Border Patrol should be along the border!” Many activists tried to converse with the officers and persuade them that the job they were doing was wrong.

    “We should be horrified,” protester Shanta Hejmadi said as demonstrators shouted “No More ICE,” “Go Home Nazis,” and other slogans at a line of Border Patrol officers, who responded with tear gas and pepper spray. “We should be saddened that our government is waging war on our citizens. We should get out and say no. What else can we do?”

    Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, President Donald Trump and others in his administration characterized the shooting as an act of self-defense and cast Good as a villain, suggesting she used her vehicle as a weapon to attack the officer who shot her.

    Vice President JD Vance weighed in Thursday, saying the shooting was justified and that Good was a “victim of left-wing ideology.”

    “I can believe that her death is a tragedy while also recognizing that it is a tragedy of her own making,” Vance said, noting that the officer who killed her was injured while making an arrest last June.

    But state and local officials and protesters rejected that characterization, with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey saying video of the shooting shows the self-defense argument to be “garbage.”

    Video below: VP Vance addresses, answers questions on ICE shooting in Minneapolis

    An immigration crackdown quickly turns deadly

    The shooting happened on Day 2 of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown on the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, which the Department of Homeland Security said is the biggest immigration enforcement operation ever. More than 2,000 officers taking part, and Noem said they have already made more than 1,500 arrests.

    It provoked an immediate response in the city where police killed George Floyd in 2020, with hundreds of people turning up to the scene to vent their outrage at the ICE officers and the school district later canceling classes for the rest of the week as a precaution.

    Good’s death — at least the fifth tied to an immigration crackdown under Trump — has resonated far beyond Minneapolis, as anti-immigration enforcement protests took place or were expected Thursday in New York City, Seattle, Detroit, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Antonio, New Orleans and Chicago. Protests were also scheduled for later this week in Arizona, North Carolina, and New Hampshire.

    Video above: Witness describes Minneapolis shooting involving ICE officer

    Who will investigate?

    On Thursday, the Minnesota agency that investigates officer-involved shootings said it was informed that the FBI and U.S. Justice Department would not work with the department, effectively ending any role for the state to determine if crimes were committed. Noem said the state has no jurisdiction.

    “Without complete access to the evidence, witnesses and information collected, we cannot meet the investigative standards that Minnesota law and the public demands,” Drew Evans, the bureau’s superintendent, said.

    Walz publicly demanded that the state be allowed to take part, repeatedly emphasizing that it would be “very difficult for Minnesotans” to accept that an investigation that excludes the state could be fair.

    Walz publicly demanded that the state be allowed to take part, repeatedly emphasizing that it would be “very, very difficult for Minnesotans” to accept that an investigation that excludes the state could be fair.

    Noem, he said, was “judge, jury and basically executioner” during her public comments about the confrontation.

    “People in positions of power have already passed judgment, from the president to the vice president to Kristi Noem — have stood and told you things that are verifiably false, verifiably inaccurate,” the governor said.

    Frey, the mayor, told The Associated Press: “We want to make sure that there is a check on this administration to ensure that this investigation is done for justice, not for the sake of a cover-up.”

    Video above: Kristi Noem questioned on ICE shooting


    A deadly encounter seen from several angles

    Several bystanders captured footage of Good’s killing, which happened in a neighborhood south of downtown.

    The videos show an officer approaching an SUV stopped across the middle of the road, demanding the driver open the door and grabbing the handle. The Honda Pilot begins to pull forward, and a different ICE officer standing in front of it pulls his weapon and immediately fires at least two shots at close range, jumping back as the vehicle moves toward him.

    Graphic video shows woman shot by ICE agent in Minneapolis

    It isn’t clear from the videos if the vehicle makes contact with the officer, and there is no indication of whether the woman had interactions with ICE agents earlier. After the shooting the SUV speeds into two cars parked on a curb before crashing to a stop.

    The mayor said he’s working with community leaders to try to keep any protests peaceful.

    “The top thing that this Trump administration is looking for is an excuse to come in with militarized force, to further occupy our streets, to cause more chaos, to have this kind of civil war on the streets of America in a Democratically run city,” Frey told the AP. “We cannot give them what they want.”

    ___

    Associated Press reporters Steve Karnowski, Giovanna Dell’Orto and Mark Vancleave in Minneapolis, Ed White in Detroit, Valerie Gonzalez in Brownsville, Texas, Graham Lee Brewer in Norman, Oklahoma, Michael Biesecker In Washington, Jim Mustian in New York and Ryan Foley in Iowa City, Iowa contributed.

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  • Feds descend on Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis, MPS cancels school for rest of week

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    Federal agents tackled several people and deployed chemical irritants at a high school in south Minneapolis as classes were ending on Wednesday, according to a witness.

    Cara Morrow told WCCO that she pulled up to Roosevelt High School around 3:30 p.m. and saw several agents get out of their cars and tackle people on school grounds. The cars were all unmarked SUVs, and the agents did not identify themselves, she said.

    Several students and teachers were leaving school as the incident unfolded. Morrow added that the agents were hitting people after they were already on the ground and using some kind of chemical irritant.

    Morrow, who graduated from the school, says she was “shocked” by what she saw happening, calling it “awful and very sad.”

    A former Roosevelt student named Daniel went to the school when he heard Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were there Wednesday. He captured video, which included someone throwing a snowball at and the agent responding with a chemical irritant.

    “Like, I can’t believe this is happening at a high school. Where people are just here trying to learn,” Daniel said.

    Daniel and his friend Braeden, a current student, said ICE’s preseence at the school has them angered and scared.

    “I want ICE to go away,” Braeden said.

    “My whole family doesn’t feel safe at home anymore,” Daniel said.  

    “I never thought we would live in a time like this. That’s what goes through my head. And it makes me really, really sad for our kids,” said Melissa Lock, a Roosevelt parent. 

    Roosevelt High School also got a visit from former Gov. Jesse Ventura. He said he stopped by the school to show his support for students and teachers.

    “I’m a 1969 graduate of Minneapolis Roosevelt. I’m proud of them for what they did. They made me proud as an alumni,” said Ventura. 

    Ventura said he supports the students and teachers who stood up to ICE. And he blames the Trump administration for not following the Constitution. 

    “Minnesota, we’ll take care of ourselves. We don’t need federal troops coming in here without warrants,” said Ventura. “You know what? Maybe it’s time for Jesse. I only did one term. I’m owed a second.”

    Gov. Tim Walz addressed the incident at a press conference on Thursday morning.

    “I can’t say this strong enough as governor, as a parent, as a teacher. To our elected representatives, Democrats and Republicans: I beg you, I implore you to tell them to stay out of our schools,” he said. “This tragedy will be magnified a hundredfold if this fight moves into the hallways of our public schools amongst our youth.”

    The clash happened hours after and just 2.5 miles away from the site where an ICE agent fatally shot a woman Wednesday morning.

    Late Wednesday, Minneapolis Public Schools announced they were canceling classes for the remainder of the week. 

    The district said the decision was made out of an abundance of caution. All MPS-sponsored programs, including athletics, Community Education, and adult education, are also canceled. 

    The district also stated that students will not switch to online learning, as it is only available during severe weather conditions. 

    Wednesday night, community members gathered in the area for a vigil for 37-year-old Renee Good, who was identified as the woman the ICE agent killed. The killing comes amid the influx of 2,000 federal law enforcement members in the Twin Cities metro area.

    Two federal sources confirm Good was a U.S. citizen. City leaders said she was a legal observer of federal actions in the city and wasn’t the target for an ICE-related arrest. 

    MPS also said they will continue to collaborate with the City of Minneapolis and other partners on emergency preparedness and response. 

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    Chloe Rosen

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  • Renee Good a ‘domestic terrorist’? Here’s what term means

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    Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem described the actions of Renee Nicole Good, a Minneapolis woman fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer, as “domestic terrorism.” 

    Noem said Good refused to obey orders to get out of her car and “weaponize(d) her vehicle” and “attempted to run” over an officer. Minnesota officials dispute Noem’s account, citing videos showing Good attempting to drive away.

    Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, a member of the state’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor party, said Jan. 8 on CNN that Noem’s statement is “an abuse of the term” domestic terrorism. 

    The Trump administration has turned to the phrase in recent months, including in an October immigration enforcement-related shooting.

    In September, the administration issued a memo calling on law enforcement to prioritize threats including “violent efforts to shut down immigration enforcement,” saying domestic terrorists were using violence to advance “extreme views in favor of mass migration and open borders.” Experts said it violates free speech laws. 

    Good, a mother of three and a poet, lived in the Minneapolis neighborhood where she was fatally shot. She was a United States citizen and had no criminal background, The Associated Press reported. Good’s ex-husband told the AP that she wasn’t an activist and he hadn’t known her to participate in protests. Good had dropped off her 6-year-old son at school and was driving home when she encountered ICE.

    The Trump administration has ramped up Minneapolis immigration enforcement in recent weeks, following news reports about fraud in the Somali community.

    A makeshift memorial honoring the victim of a fatal shooting involving federal law enforcement agents is taped to a post near the site of the previous day’s shooting, Jan. 8, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP)

    What is domestic terrorism?

    Federal agencies have their own definitions of domestic terrorism.

    The FBI, citing a specific section of the U.S. code, defines domestic terrorism as acts dangerous to human life that violate federal or state criminal laws and appear intended to intimidate or coerce civilians; influence government policy by intimidation or coercion; or affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination or kidnapping, according to a 2020 memo.

    Homeland Security uses a similar definition, citing a different statute that defines domestic terrorism as dangerous to human life or potentially destructive of critical infrastructure or key resources.

    The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service wrote in 2023, “Unlike foreign terrorism, the federal government does not have a mechanism to formally charge an individual with domestic terrorism which sometimes makes it difficult (and occasionally controversial) to formally characterize someone as a domestic terrorist.”

    In 2022, former FBI agent Michael German, then a fellow with New York University Law School’s Brennan Center for Justice, told PolitiFact that 51 federal statutes apply to domestic terrorism.

    “I think there is (and always has been) confusion between rhetoric and the law in regard to terrorism,” German told PolitiFact after the Minneapolis shooting. “There is no law that authorizes the U.S. government to designate any group or individual in the US as a ‘domestic terrorist.’”

    The federal government periodically revises how it describes threats. For example, in 2025, federal officials sometimes used the term “nihilistic violent extremists” to describe perpetrators who don’t subscribe to one ideology but appear to be motivated by a desire to, as one expert put it, “gamify” real life violence. Experts told PolitiFact that the term is valid, but cautioned against overuse or citing it to obscure other ideological motivations such as white supremacy.

    A makeshift memorial honoring the victim of a fatal shooting involving federal law enforcement agents is taped to a post near the site of the previous day’s shooting, Jan. 8, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP)

    The Trump administration has broadened the domestic terrorism label

    The DHS rhetoric is similar to another immigration enforcement-related shooting in October. During DHS’s months-long Chicago immigration crackdown dubbed “Operation Midway Blitz,” a Border Patrol agent shot U.S. citizen Marimar Martinez five times. 

    A DHS press release described Martinez as a “domestic terrorist” and accused her of ramming her vehicle into the Border Patrol agent’s car, carrying a semiautomatic weapon and having a “history of doxxing federal agents.”

    A federal judge granted prosecutors’ motion to dismiss federal charges against Martinez in November. 

    “Ultimately, there was a determination when everything was evaluated that there were serious questions about the officers’ narratives,” legal analyst Joey Jackson told CNN.

    The government’s use of the term goes beyond immigration and DHS. 

    After conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s murder, Trump issued a Sept. 25 memo ordering the attorney general to expand domestic terrorism priorities to include “politically motivated terrorist acts such as organized doxing campaigns, swatting, rioting, looting, trespass, assault, destruction of property, threats of violence, and civil disorder.”

    Trump signed an executive order a few days before designating antifa, a broad, loosely affiliated coalition of left-wing activists, as a domestic terrorist organization.

    Attorney General Pam Bondi told federal prosecutors and law enforcement agencies to compile a list of groups “engaged in acts that may constitute domestic terrorism.”

    Legal experts have raised alarms about the memo’s potential infringements on the First Amendment.

    “Both the order and the memo are ungrounded in fact and law,” Faiza Patel, Brennan Center for Justice director of liberty and national security, wrote. “Acting on them would violate free speech rights, potentially threatening any person or group holding any one of a broad array of disfavored views with investigation and prosecution.”

    Experts have also pointed to the memo’s focus on left-wing violence; it does not mention the politically motivated assassination of Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman, a member of the state’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor party, months before. 

    “When a policy directive targets one ideological family and leaves others to the footnotes, it sheds any pretense of neutrality,” Thomas E. Brzozowski, former Justice Department Counsel for Domestic Terrorism, wrote Dec. 12.

    Experts raise questions about Noem’s “domestic terrorism” label

    Information is still surfacing about what transpired before Good was fatally shot. However,  frame-by-frame analyses of video footage by The New York Times and The Washington Post found Good’s vehicle moved toward an ICE agent, but the agent was able to move out of the way and fire at least two of the three shots from his gun from the side of the car as Good veered away.

    Brzozowski told PolitiFact that since Good was trying to drive away to “characterize that as domestic terrorism I think is a stretch.”

    However, he said the larger concern is that Noem is using the domestic terrorism term absent any actual findings before an investigation.

    “Essentially within hours of the incident occurring labeling this activity as domestic terrorism, what that does is effectively strip domestic terrorism of its significance,” he said, calling it a “blatantly partisan effort to label it as domestic terrorism.”

    “Now what is domestic terrorism? Whatever the DHS secretary says it is? She can characterize anything she wants as domestic terrorism. She is doing so without any facts to go on.”

    Shirin Sinnar, Stanford Law School professor, told PolitiFact, “While intentionally ramming a vehicle for a political purpose could amount to terrorism in a different context, the videos of the Minneapolis incident appear to show a woman attempting to drive away from ICE officers, not hit them. Here, the administration’s calling her a domestic terrorist is simply an attempt to malign a protester and justify her killing by an ICE officer.”

    German told PolitiFact after the Minneapolis shooting there isn’t any public evidence to suggest that Good was “engaging in conduct that could have been prosecuted under the terrorism chapter of the U.S. Code,” pointing to 18 U.S. Code Chapter 113B. “So a government official calling her a domestic terrorist isn’t supported in the law, and is entirely pejorative and prejudicial.”

    RELATED: Nihilistic violent extremism: What the FBI term means and why experts warn against overuse

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  • Minneapolis Public Schools cancel classes for remainder of week after fatal ICE shooting

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    Minneapolis Public Schools announced late Wednesday night that they are canceling classes for the remainder of the week after officials said an ICE agent fatally shot a woman Wednesday morning. 

    The district said the decision was made out of an abundance of caution. All MPS-sponsored programs, including athletics, Community Education, and adult education, are also canceled. 

    The district also stated that students will not switch to online learning, as it is only available during severe weather conditions. 

    ICE agents were in a residential neighborhood at 34th Street and Portland Avenue, the shooting happened around 10 a.m. Wednesday night, community members gathered in the area for a vigil for 37-year-old Renee Good who was killed by an ICE agent. The killing comes amid the influx of 2,000 federal law enforcement members in the Twin Cities metro area.

    Two federal sources confirm Good was a U.S. citizen. City leaders said she was a legal observer of federal actions in the city and wasn’t the target for an ICE-related arrest. 

    MPS also said they will continue to collaborate with the City of Minneapolis and other partners on emergency preparedness and response. 

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    Chloe Rosen

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  • Noem says Brown shooting suspect got U.S. visa through diversity lottery, announces pause to program

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    Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced late Thursday that the Trump administration will pause the diversity visa lottery program, which she said was used eight years ago by the now-deceased man accused of killing two Brown University students and an MIT professor.

    “This heinous individual should never have been allowed in our country,” Noem said on X. “At President Trump’s direction, I am immediately directing USCIS to pause the DV1 program to ensure no more Americans are harmed by this disastrous program.”

    Noem said the suspected shooter, Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, entered the United States through the program in 2017 and was issued a green card.

    What is the diversity visa program?

    Launched in the 1990s, the program offers 50,000 visas per year to people from countries with relatively low rates of immigration to the U.S., with recipients selected at random using a lottery. Every year, tens of millions of people vie for visas through the program.

    In order to qualify for a diversity visa, applicants must have at least a high school education or two years of work experience in a field that requires training. They are also required to undergo vetting and an interview before getting a visa.

    The program was created by Congress, and it’s not clear under what legal mechanism the administration can order a pause. Most visas issued through the lottery are overseen by the State Department, and a small number are processed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services — which is part of DHS — for applicants already in the U.S.

    Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also paused the issuance of diversity visas “until we can be sure we know exactly who we are letting into our country,” a State Department spokesperson told CBS News on Friday.

    Criticism from Trump administration

    President Trump is a longstanding critic of the diversity visa lottery program, arguing it could pose security risks and isn’t sufficiently merit-based, like employment-based visas. He pushed to end it early in his first term, after a man who had received a diversity visa killed eight people in a truck-ramming attack in New York City. Supporters of the visas say recipients are vetted and argue the program is good for the U.S. economy and the country’s image abroad.

    The first Trump administration suspended the program in 2020, part of a broader set of restrictions on legal immigration that cited the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Former President Joe Biden reversed that policy in 2021.

    Shooting suspect in the U.S.

    Neves Valente, 48, was a Portuguese national whose last known residence was in Miami, officials said in a press conference late Thursday. 

    More than a decade before getting a diversity visa, Neves Valente was admitted to the U.S. on a student visa in 2000 to attend graduate school at Brown University, according to a local police affidavit that was attached to his arrest warrant. Brown’s president says he studied at the Ivy League school for a few months starting in the fall of 2000, but he took a leave of absence in the spring of 2001 and formally withdrew two years later.

    Authorities said Neves Valente was found dead by suicide in a storage unit in New Hampshire late Thursday, ending a days-long investigation following a shooting at Brown that killed two students and wounded nine over the weekend. Authorities say he is also believed to be responsible for the deadly shooting of an MIT professor in suburban Boston two days after the shooting at Brown.

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  • Kristi Noem grilled over L.A. Purple Heart Army vet who self-deported

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    The saga of a Los Angeles Army veteran who legally immigrated to the United States, was wounded in combat and self-deported to South Korea earlier this year, became a flashpoint during a testy congressional hearing about the Trump administration’s immigration policy.

    Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was grilled Thursday on Capitol Hill about military veterans deported during the immigration crackdown launched earlier this year, including in Los Angeles.

    “Sir, we have not deported U.S. citizens or military veterans,” Noem responded when questioned by Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.).

    Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.) speaks while joined on a video call by a man who he said was a U.S. military veteran who self-deported to South Korea, during a hearing of the House Committee on Homeland Security on Thursday.

    (Mark Schiefelbein / Associated Press)

    An aide then held up a tablet showing a Zoom connection with Purple Heart recipient Sae Joon Park in South Korea. The congressman argued that Park had “sacrificed more for this country than most people ever have” and asked Noem if she would investigate Park’s case given her discretion as a cabinet member. Noem pledged to “absolutely look at his case.”

    Park, reached in Seoul on Thursday night, said he was skeptical that Noem would follow through on her promise, but said that he had “goosebumps” watching the congressional hearing.

    “It was amazing. And then I’m getting tons of phone calls from all my friends back home and everywhere else. I’m so very grateful for everything that happened today,” Park, 56, said, noting that friends told him that a clip of his story appeared on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” show Thursday night.

    The late-night host featured footage of Park’s moment in the congressional hearing in his opening monologue.

    “Is anyone OK with this? Seriously, all kidding aside, we deported a veteran with a Purple Heart?” Kimmel said, adding that Republicans “claim to care so much about veterans, but they don’t at all.”

    Park legally immigrated to the United States when he was 7, grew up in Koreatown and the San Fernando Valley, and joined the Army after graduating from Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks in 1988.

    Photo of Sae Joon Park, an Army veteran with a Purple Heart, who self-deported to South Korea under threat of deportation.

    Photo of Sae Joon Park, an Army veteran with a Purple Heart, who self-deported to South Korea under threat of deportation.

    (Courtesy of Sae Joon Park)

    The green card holder was deployed to Panama in 1989 as the U.S. tried to depose the nation’s de facto leader, Gen. Manuel Noriega. Park was shot twice and honorably discharged. Suffering PTSD, he self-medicated with illicit drugs, went to prison after jumping bail on drug possession charges, became sober and raised two children in Hawaii.

    Earlier this year, when Park checked in for his annual meeting with federal officials to verify his sobriety and employment, he was given the option of being immediately detained and deported, or wearing an ankle monitor for three weeks as he got his affairs in order before leaving the country for a decade.

    At the time, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Park had an “extensive criminal history” and had been given a final removal order, with the option to self-deport.

    Park chose to leave the country voluntarily. He initially struggled to acclimate in a nation he hasn’t lived in since he was a child, but said Thursday night that his mental state — and his Korean language skills — have improved.

    “It hasn’t been easy. Of course, I miss home like crazy,” he said. “I’m doing the best I can. I’m usually a very positive person, so I feel like everything happens for a reason, and I’m just trying to hang in there until hopefully I make it back home.”

    Among Park’s top concerns when he left the United States in June was that his mother, who is 86 and struggling with dementia, would pass away while he couldn’t return to the county. But her lack of awareness about his situation has been somewhat of a strange blessing, Park said.

    “She really doesn’t know I’m even here. So every time I talk to her, she’s like, ‘Oh, where are you,’ and I tell her, and she’s like, ‘Oh, when are you coming home? Oh, why are you there?’” Park said. “In a weird way, it’s kind of good because she doesn’t have to worry about me all the time. But at the same time, I would love to be next to her while she’s going through this.”

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    Seema Mehta

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  • Commentary: Homeland Security says it doesn’t detain citizens. These brave Californians prove it has

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    Call it an accident, call it the plan. But don’t stoop to the reprehensible gaslighting of calling it a lie: It is fact that federal agents have detained and arrested dozens, if not hundreds, of United States citizens as part of immigration sweeps, regardless of what Kristi Noem would like us to believe.

    During a congressional hearing Thursday, Noem, our secretary of Homeland Security and self-appointed Cruelty Barbie, reiterated her oft-used and patently false line that only the worst of the worst are being targeted by immigration authorities. That comes after weeks of her department posting online, on its ever-more far-right social media accounts, that claims of American citizens being rounded up and held incommunicado are “fake news” or a “hoax.”

    “Stop fear-mongering. ICE does NOT arrest or deport U.S. citizens,” Homeland Security recently posted on the former Twitter.

    Tuesday, at a different congressional hearing, a handful of citizens — including two Californians — told their stories of being grabbed by faceless masked men and being whisked away to holding cells where they were denied access to phones, lawyers, medications and a variety of other legal rights.

    Their testimony accompanied the release of a congressional report by the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations in which 22 American citizens, including a dozen from the Golden State, told their own shocking, terrifying tales of manhandling and detentions by what can only be described as secret police — armed agents who wouldn’t identify themselves and often seemed to lack basic training required for safe urban policing.

    These stories and the courageous Americans who are stepping forward to tell them are history in the making — a history I hope we regret but not forget.

    Immigration enforcement, boosted by unprecedented amounts of funding, is about to ramp up even more. Noem and her agents are reveling in impunity, attempting to erase and rewrite reality as they go — while our Supreme Court crushes precedent and common sense to further empower this presidency. Until the midterms, there is little hope of any check on power.

    Under those circumstances, for these folks to put their stories on the record is both an act of bravery and patriotism, because they now know better than most what it means to have the chaotic brutality of this administration focused on them. It’s incumbent upon the rest of us to hear them, and protest peacefully not only rights being trampled, but our government demanding we believe lies.

    “I’ve always said that immigrants who are given the great privilege of becoming citizens are also some of the most patriotic people in this country. I know you all love your country. I love our country, and this is not the America that we believe in or that we fought so hard for. Every person, every U.S. citizen, has rights,” Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach) said as the hearing began.

    L.A. native Andrea Velez, whose detention was reported on by my colleagues when it happened, was one of those putting herself on the line to testify.

    Less than 5 feet tall, Velez is a graduate of Cal Poly Pomona who was working in the garment district in June when ICE began its raids. Her mom and teenage sister had just dropped her off when masked men swarmed out of unmarked cars and began chasing brown people. Velez didn’t know what was happening, but when one man charged her, she held up her work bag in defense. The bag did not protect her. Neither did her telling the agents she is a U.S. citizen.

    “He handcuffed me without checking my ID. They ignored me as I repeated it again and again that I am a U.S. citizen,” she told committee members. “They did not care.”

    Velez, still unsure who the man was who forced her into an SUV, managed to open the door and run to an LAPD officer, begging for help. But when the masked man noticed she was loose, he “ran up screaming, ‘She’s mine’” the congressional report says.

    The police officer sent her back to the unmarked car, beginning a 48-hour ordeal that ended with her being charged with assault of a federal officer — charges eventually dropped after her lawyer demanded body camera footage and alleged witness statements. (The minority staff report was released by Rep. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, the highest-ranking Democrat on the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.)

    “I never imagined this would be occurring, here, in America,” Velez told lawmakers. “DHS likes … to brand us as criminals, stripping us of our dignity. They want to paint us as the worst of the worst, but the truth is, we are human beings with no criminal record.”

    This if-you’re-brown-you’re-going-down tactic is likely to become more common because it is now legal.

    In Noem vs. Vasquez Perdomo, a September court decision, Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote that it was reasonable for officers to stop people who looked foreign and were engaged in activities associated with undocumented people — such as soliciting work at a Home Depot or attending a Spanish-language event, as long as authorities “promptly” let the person go if they prove citizenship. These are now known as “Kavanaugh stops.”

    Disregarding how racist and problematic that policy is, “promptly” seems to be up for debate.

    Javier Ramirez, born in San Bernardino, testified as “a proud American citizen who has never known the weight of a criminal record.”

    He’s a father of three who was working at his car lot in June when he noticed a strange SUV idling on his private property with a bunch of men inside. When he approached, they jumped out, armed with assault weapons, and grabbed him.

    “This was a terrifying situation,” Ramirez said. But then it got worse.

    One of the men yelled, “Get him. He’s Mexican!”

    On video shot by a bystander, Javier can be heard shouting, “I have my passport!” according to the congressional report, but the agents didn’t care. When Ramirez asked why they were holding him, an agent told him, “We’re trying to figure that out.”

    Like Velez, Ramirez was put in detention. A severe diabetic, he was denied medication until he became seriously ill, he told investigators. Though he asked for a lawyer, he was not allowed to contact one — but the interrogation continued.

    After his release, five days later, he had to seek further medical treatment. He, too, was charged with assault of a federal agent, along with obstruction and resisting arrest. The bogus charges were also later dropped.

    “I should not have to live in fear of being targeted simply for the color of my skin or the other language I speak,” he told the committee. “I share my story not just for myself, but for everyone who has been unjustly treated, for those whose voice has been silenced.”

    You know the poem, folks. It starts when “they came” for the vulnerable. Thankfully, though people such as Ramirez and Velez may be vulnerable due to their pigmentation, they are not meek and they won’t be silenced. Our democracy, our safety as a nation of laws, depends on not just hearing their stories, but also standing peacefully against such abuses of power.

    Because these abuses only end when the people decide they’ve had enough — not just of the lawlessness, but of the lies that empower it.

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    Anita Chabria

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  • Walz urges Noem to ‘reassess’ immigration enforcement strategy in Minnesota after alleged citizen arrests

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    Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is urging Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to “reassess” her enforcement strategy after he said multiple U.S. citizens have been arrested during federal immigration operations across the state amid the Trump administration’s aggressive mass deportation campaign.

    In a letter to Noem, Walz said he was writing with “serious concern” regarding arrests made by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Minneapolis. 

    “Reports indicate that some citizens were documenting federal activity, while others were going about their daily lives,” he wrote. “This troubling pattern raised serious questions, not only about due process and the rights of U.S. citizens, but also about trust between Minnesota communities and federal authorities.”

    MINNESOTA COLLEGE ADMINISTRATOR ACCUSED OF IMPEDING ICE ARREST TO PROTECT STUDENT SEXUAL PREDATOR

    Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is urging Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to “reassess” her enforcement strategy following the arrest of U.S. citizens during immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis.  (Getty Images)

    “This series of incidents raises serious concerns about civil liberties and trust between Minnesota communities and federal authorities,” Walz said in a statement regarding his letter. “Minnesotans have long valued civic engagement, and detaining citizens for lawfully exercising those rights or going about their daily lives sends a deeply disturbing message. I am urging Secretary Noem to respect the constitution and for her administration to ensure that federal operations are conducted lawfully and with respect for the rights of all individuals.”

    He stated that the “forcefulness, lack of communication and unlawful practices” displayed by federal agents won’t be tolerated in Minnesota. He urged Noem to reassess the broader enforcement strategy.

    Fox News Digital has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security and ICE.  

    Walz cited one alleged incident in which someone named “Sue” was physically pushed, handcuffed and taken to a federal facility after she refused to move back from a scene after being asked to do so while documenting a law enforcement operation. She was told she would be charged with obstruction, Walz said. 

    BORDER CZAR TOM HOMAN FIRES BACK AT CNN HOST IN DEFENSE OF ICE TACTICS: ‘THEY’VE BEEN SHOT AT’

    Tim Walz is pictured next to ICE

    Tim Walz is pictured next to ICE (Getty Images / ICE)

    Another person named “Mubashir” was chased, tackled and handcuffed before being detained despite stating his citizenship status, he said. 

    The governor said those who document law enforcement activity “play an essential role in transparency, accountability and safeguarding civil liberties in Minnesota.”

    Immigration officials have said that individuals are free to watch and film law enforcement operations, but anyone obstructing authorities from doing their jobs could face arrest.  

    In his letter, Walz urged Noem to review recent arrests made by federal agents to ensure they have a judicial warrant authorizing detention or seizure and to clarify the legal standard under which a citizen may exercise their rights to document and witness “aggressive law enforcement actions.” 

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    He also asked that she ensure ICE agents operating in Minnesota receive guidance and training on respecting the civil rights of U.S. citizens and residents. 

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  • Moulton bill would allow ICE lawsuits

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    BOSTON — Immigrants would be allowed to sue federal authorities for “misconduct” under a proposal filed Monday by U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, which the Democrat named ostensibly after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

    The National Oversight and Enforcement of Misconduct Act, or NOEM Act, as filed Monday would update federal law to allow people “under federal immigration enforcement authority” to file lawsuits if they believe their “constitutional rights” have been violated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

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    By Christian M. Wade | Statehouse Reporter

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  • Legal status of 350,000 Haitian migrants to expire in early February, U.S. officials announce

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    The Trump administration announced Wednesday a renewed effort to terminate the Temporary Protected Status of more than 350,000 Haitian immigrants, saying they will be eligible for deportation in early February unless they have other legal means to remain in the U.S.

    Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem made the decision after the Trump administration’s initial attempts to end the TPS protections of hundreds of thousands of Haitians earlier this year were stalled in federal court.

    Noem acknowledged the humanitarian and political problems faced by crisis-stricken Haiti — including what she called “widespread gang violence” — but said extending the TPS policy would be at odds with U.S. interests.

    “Based on the Department’s review, the Secretary has determined that while the current situation in Haiti is concerning, the United States must prioritize its national interests and permitting Haitian nationals to remain temporarily in the United States is contrary to the U.S. national interest,” the official DHS termination notice said.

    The TPS program for Haiti is now set to expire on Feb. 3, and the termination is expected to affect 352,959 beneficiaries, DHS said in its notice. Trump administration officials have urged TPS holders whose status is set to lapse to self-deport or face the prospect of being detained and forcibly removed from the U.S.

    TPS allows beneficiaries to work and live in the U.S. without fear of deportation for time periods outlined by DHS. The humanitarian program was created by Congress in 1990 to allow administrations to grant a temporary safe haven to foreigners from countries facing an armed conflict, an environmental disaster or other emergencies.

    The Biden administration vastly expanded the TPS policy, offering the protections to hundreds of thousands of new arrivals from Afghanistan, Haiti, Ukraine, Venezuela and other countries. Some of those who benefit from TPS entered the U.S. illegally, most commonly along the southern border, while others arrived legally on temporary visas or programs.

    As part of its government-wide immigration crackdown, the second Trump administration has sought to dismantle most TPS programs, revoking or moving to revoke legal protections for hundreds of thousands of Afghans, Burmese, Cameroonians, Haitians, Hondurans, Nepalis, Nicaraguans, Syrians, Sudanese and Venezuelans.

    The Trump administration has argued the TPS policy has been abused by Democratic administrations, exploited by bad actors and extended for too long, even though it is designed to be temporary in nature. In some cases, it has argued conditions in countries with TPS have improved and in other cases, it has said that extending the program would not further U.S. interests, even if conditions in the affected nations remain dire.

    In its notice Wednesday, DHS argued the TPS policy for Haiti was a magnet for illegal immigration, and that continuing the program posed national security and public safety risks. It cited concerns about its ability to properly vet Haitian migrants, and cases of some TPS holders from Haiti being implicated in immigration fraud or national security investigations. 

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  • Trump admin ends Temporary Protected Status for Burmese migrants

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    The Trump administration on Monday ended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Burmese migrants, deeming conditions in the country to have improved enough for citizens to return safely.

    “This decision restores TPS to its original status as temporary,” Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement. “Burma has made notable progress in governance and stability, including the end of its state of emergency, plans for free and fair elections, successful ceasefire agreements, and improved local governance contributing to enhanced public service delivery and national reconciliation.” 

    Burma, also known as Myanmar, was first designated for TPS in May 2021 by then-Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. In March 2024, Mayorkas extended TPS for Burma for 18 months, making its expiration date Nov. 25, 2025.

    TRUMP TERMINATES DEPORTATION PROTECTIONS FOR SOMALI NATIONALS LIVING IN MINNESOTA ‘EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY’

    Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem speaks at the Citadel Patriot Dinner at the Citadel on Nov. 6, 2025, in Charleston, S.C.  (Alex Brandon/pool/AFP via Getty Images)

    U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said in its announcement that the designation will end on Jan. 26, 2026. It noted that Noem came to the decision “after conferring with interagency partners” and that she “further determined that permitting Burmese nationals to remain temporarily in the United States is contrary to the national interest of the United States.”

    USCIS also said that Burmese nationals are encouraged to use the U.S. Customs and Border Protection CBP Home app, which is designed for self-deportations.

    Since January 2025, Noem has ended TPS for migrants from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Nepal, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Syria and South Sudan.

    People march in San Francisco while holding Burmese flags

    Hundreds walk across the Golden Gate Bridge during a solidarity march for the people of Burma in San Francisco, Calif., on Sunday, March 7, 2021.  (Scott Strazzante/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)

    FEDERAL JUDGE FINDS ‘RACIAL AND DISCRIMINATORY ANIMUS’ IN TRUMP MOVE TO CANCEL TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS

    USCIS issued a statement on Nov. 13 saying it was “ending exploitation” by ensuring that TPS would be “truly temporary.” Additionally, it announced the implementation of “rigorous screening and vetting protocols.”

    “The distinction between legal and illegal immigration becomes meaningless when both can destroy a country at its foundation,” USCIS spokesman Matthew Tragesser said in the statement. “Unchecked mass migration floods the American labor market, depressing wages and taking jobs away from hardworking Americans, while straining healthcare, education, and housing systems.”

    President Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable meeting on antifa in the State Dining Room at the White House, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025, in Washington, as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem listens. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

    President Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable meeting on Antifa in the State Dining Room at the White House as DHS Secretary Kristi Noem listens. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

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    On Friday, President Donald Trump said he would move to end TPS for Somali migrants in Minnesota following a bombshell report tracing money in the hands to Al-Shabaab terrorists to a series of fraud schemes in the North Star State.

    “Minnesota, under Governor Waltz, is a hub of fraudulent money laundering activity. I am, as President of the United States, hereby terminating, effective immediately, the Temporary Protected Status (TPS program) for Somalis in Minnesota. Somali gangs are terrorizing the people of that great state, and BILLIONS of dollars are missing. Send them back to where they came from. It’s OVER!,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

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  • Kristi Noem delivers bonus checks to some MSP Airport TSA employees in move union calls

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    U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem returned to the Twin Cities on Sunday for the second time in a month.

    Noem stopped at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to deliver bonus checks to select TSA officers.

    “We have just endured the longest government shutdown in American history. It was 43 days where our federal government was shut down,” Noem said.

    In an effort to thank those who continued to work without pay during the shutdown, Noem hand delivered $10,000 bonus checks to 48 TSA employees who work at MSP Airport.

    “Ten-thousand dollars is going to help out a lot,” said TSA officer Jonathan Pringle.

    Alex Garcia has worked for TSA at the airport for 14 years.

    “One of the reasons I continue with the sacrifice is to ensure the safety of the traveling public,” Garcia said. “Ever since my service in the Marine Corp., I was called to something bigger than me.”

    Employee Steven Grubb said he struggled to afford basic needs during the shutdown.

    “The bane of my existence coming here everyday, driving here 45 minutes, was the distance to ’empty’ on my vehicle, and so I’m very grateful to everyone and I’m very grateful for this bonus,” Grubb said.

    Local 899 Airport Screeners Union argues these bonuses are illegal and only rewarded 7% of the MSP workforce. In a statement, union treasurer Neal Gosman said in part: “Nearly every TSO showed up consistently to maintain the security of the travelling public during the shutdown. The process of making these awards completely bypassed local management involvement and participation with the union.”

    WCCO asked Noem why some staff were excluded from the bonus, and she said they went to staff nominated for the reward.

    “Those nominations happen at the local level, where they serve and the individuals that they work with, also their leadership team,” Noem said. “It’s been applied equally across the department.”

    The union says they are donating more than $2,000 across local food shelves in Midwest states where they serve, including Minnesota. They said this donation is to thank TSO employees who worked during the shutdown.

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    Marielle Mohs

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  • Immigrants fined up to $1.8 million for remaining in US sue Trump administration

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    A lawsuit was filed Thursday against the federal government on behalf of immigrants facing fines reaching up to $1.8 million each for staying in the U.S. illegally.

    Daily penalties of $998 have been levied against more than 21,500 immigrants, whose lawyers say they were attempting to comply with federal immigration laws. The fines were implemented to encourage immigrants to leave the country.

    The lawyers said their clients were slapped with “ruinous civil fines” that are “grossly disproportionate to the gravity” of any immigration violations, arguing that the fines are unconstitutional.

    The lawsuit, filed in Massachusetts on behalf of two immigrant women, seeks class-action status to represent people facing fines that lawyers say have totaled more than $6 billion under President Donald Trump’s mass deportation policies.

    POPE LEO XIV STRONGLY SUPPORTS US BISHOPS’ CONDEMNATION OF TRUMP IMMIGRATION RAIDS: ‘EXTREMELY DISRESPECTFUL’

    A lawsuit was filed against the federal government on behalf of immigrants facing fines reaching up to $1.8 million for remaining in the U.S. illegally. (Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP/Getty Images)

    “The people we serve are doing exactly what the law requires — pursuing legal relief through immigration courts and immigration agencies,” Hasan Shafiqullah, a supervising attorney with The Legal Aid Society, one of the groups representing the immigrants, said in a news release. “In return, the government is threatening to seize their wages, cars, even their homes.”

    One of the two plaintiffs, a woman residing in Florida who was identified in the complaint only as Nancy M. to protect her from retribution, was instructed to leave the U.S., but also had an “order of supervision” and was meeting annually with immigration officials as she attempted to become a legal permanent resident.

    Despite this, she received a bill earlier this year for about $1.8 million, which appeared to be reached through daily $998 fines for the past five years.

    President Trump pointing

    The lawyers said their clients were slapped with “ruinous civil fines” that are “grossly disproportionate to the gravity” of any immigration violations. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

    The Department of Homeland Security purported that the lawsuit was “just another attempt to nullify federal immigration law through activist litigation.”

    “The plaintiffs in this case are here illegally and are suing so they can remain in the country illegally without any consequence or penalty – contrary to decades-old federal law,” DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.

    Shortly after Trump returned to the White House in January, his administration revealed a series of moves to encourage immigrants to leave the country, including DHS’ announcement in February that illegal immigrants could face “significant financial penalty” if they choose not to self-deport.

    DHS TO IMPOSE $1K FEE FOR MIGRANTS GRANTED HUMANITARIAN PAROLE

    Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks

    The Department of Homeland Security purported that the lawsuit was “just another attempt to nullify federal immigration law through activist litigation.” (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

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    Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem “have a clear message for those in our country illegally: leave now,” McLaughlin said in February.

    “The Trump administration will enforce all our immigration laws — we will not pick and choose which laws we will enforce,” she added at the time.

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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  • Evanston PD investigating after feds arrest 3 US citizens following crash during operation: mayor

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    EVANSTON, Ill. (WLS) — Some faith and elected leaders in Evanston say they are deeply disturbed by the events involving federal agents on Friday.

    On Saturday, people stood united during a community vigil.

    ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

    “Immigrants are welcome here; ICE is not,” said 13th District Cook County Commissioner Josina Morita.

    Hundreds of Evanston residents and elected leaders gathered near Asbury Avenue and Oakton Street on Saturday afternoon.

    “My faith teaches me that no one is illegal, and no one deserves to be dehumanized,” said Unitarian Church of Evanston Rev. Eileen Wiviott.

    This comes 24 hours after chaotic moments played out in that same area, and three U.S. citizens were arrested.

    “My understanding of the three individuals who were taken have been released,” said Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss.

    SEE ALSO | Chicago federal intervention: Tracking surge in immigration enforcement operations | Live updates

    Witnesses say a man and a woman in a red car were following agents to warn people of their presence.

    That’s when, bystanders say, agents slammed on their brakes causing the people in the car to crash into the agent’s vehicle.

    The Department of Homeland Security accused people who watched the incident happen of being “aggressive,” saying in part, “As agents tried to make a U-turn, the red car crashed into Border Patrol. A hostile crowd surrounded agents and their vehicle, and began verbally abusing them and spitting on them.”

    Neighbors say a man and a woman were then dragged out of a car. ABC7 blurred their faces because we do not know if they have been charged.

    Cellphone video shows one agent punching the man on the ground. At one point, an agent appears to pull out a gun on a bystander and threatens to pepper spray him.

    “I was appalled that, by a block from my home, people were dragged out of their car by masked men, some not masked, and beaten in the face,” said Evanston resident Kate LeVan.

    DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin wrote on X, “The individual arrested in this video assaulted and kicked Border Patrol agents. As he was being arrested, here, he aggressively grabbed the agent’s genitals and wouldn’t let go. The agent delivered several defensive strikes to free his genitals from the perp’s grasp.”

    Biss says the Evanston Police Department is actively investigating the matter.

    “So, our police right now, exploring options about whether the right course of action is to work with the Cook County state’s attorney to press charges like that or refer, instead, perhaps, to the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, but there’s an open investigation, and they’re gathering evidence and figuring out the best course of action,” Biss said.

    Biss went on to say immigration operations have impacted their schools and caused fear among students. On Friday, outdoor recess was canceled as federal agents were in the area.

    Meanwhile, over in Broadview, four people have been arrested Saturday in connection with protests outside of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility there, police said. They are facing charges such as Resisting, Disorderly Conduct, Disobeying to a Police Officer and Simple Assault.

    DHS issued a statement on the events in Evanston Friday, saying, “Today, U.S. Border Patrol conducted immigration enforcement operations in Evanston and Skokie, Illinois, that resulted in the arrest of five illegal aliens from Mexico, whose criminal histories include criminal trespass and multiple illegal entries into the country. All of these individuals have broken the immigration laws of our nation.

    During an operation at Oakton Street and Ashbury Avenue in Evanston, agents observed they were being aggressively tailgated by a red vehicle. As agents tried to make a U-turn, the red car crashed into Border Patrol. A hostile crowd surrounded agents and their vehicle, and began verbally abusing them and spitting on them. As Border patrol arrested one individual, who actively resisted arrest, pepper spray was deployed spray to deter the agitator and disperse the crowd. Three U.S. citizens were arrested as a result of their violence against law enforcement.

    “This incident is not isolated and reflects a growing and dangerous trend of violence and obstruction. Over the past several days, we’ve seen an increase in assaults and deliberate vehicle rammings targeting federal law enforcement during operations. These confrontations highlight the dangers our agents face daily and the escalating aggression toward law enforcement. The violence must end.”

    Evanston police also issued a statement Friday, saying, “The Evanston Police Department responded Friday, Oct. 31, to several reports of federal agents conducting deportation operations throughout the city. Police supervisors responded to these reports; in only one instance did officers find federal agents on scene upon arrival.

    At approximately 12:25 p.m., Evanston Police responded to reports from citizens and federal agents regarding a traffic crash in which a civilian vehicle rear-ended a federal vehicle. The crash led to a disturbance at the scene.

    Preliminary information indicates that the driver of the civilian vehicle was taken into custody by federal agents. During that arrest, a confrontation occurred between community members and the agents, reportedly resulting in one or two additional arrests. Evanston Police officers worked to stabilize the scene and prevent further conflict between community members and federal agents.

    Prior to police arrival, pepper spray appears to have been deployed. Evanston Fire Department paramedics responded to provide medical care for individuals exposed to pepper spray.

    Evanston Police did not make any arrests and currently have no one in custody. The incident remains under investigation.

    The Evanston Police Department will review this incident for referral to the Illinois Attorney General’s Office. If you have information, including video or other evidence, please contact the Evanston Police Detective Bureau at 847-866-5040.”

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