A federal immigration agent fatally shot a woman in Minneapolis on Wednesday, the latest escalation in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota.
Local and federal officials were immediately divided on how the shooting unfolded. President Trump and other federal officials asserted that the agent acted “in self-defense,” while Minnesota officials described those accounts as “propaganda” and “garbage.”
On Wednesday night, thousands of people gathered to protest at a vigil as the shooting reignited the debate on the deployment of federal agents and troops in cities across the country. Local and state leaders implored the administration to withdraw federal agents from Minnesota.
Here’s what we know:
What happened in the encounter?
In videos posted on social media and verified by The New York Times, a maroon Honda Pilot is shown partly blocking one lane of a snowy residential street. The driver of the S.U.V. rolls forward slightly, then stops and waves to signal that approaching vehicles should drive past.
A truck with flashing lights approaches and the driver waves again. When the truck stops, federal agents emerge.
Two agents approach the driver and tell her to get out of the car. One tries to open the driver’s side door and reaches through the window. A third agent steps in front of the Honda.
The vehicle is shifted from reverse into drive and begins to move ahead. The agent at the front of the vehicle, standing near the driver’s side headlight, pulls out a gun and fires at the driver, continuing to shoot as the vehicle moves past him.
The Honda accelerates and then crashes. The agent who fired approaches the vehicle, then walks away and tells other agents to call 911.
One witness who spoke with The Times described seeing an ICE agent trying to rip open the Honda’s door, while hearing another agent in front of the vehicle shouting “Stop!” before quickly firing.
Who is the victim?
The authorities identified the driver as Renee Nicole Good, 37. Ms. Good, a U.S. citizen, lived in Minneapolis with her partner, her mother said in an interview with The Minnesota Star Tribune.
Ms. Good had a 6-year-old child and was “loving, forgiving and affectionate,” her mother, Donna Ganger, told The Star Tribune.
Ms. Ganger declined a request for additional comment, and other family members could not be immediately reached.
The Minneapolis police chief, Brian O’Hara, said in a news conference that there was “nothing to indicate that this woman was the target of any law enforcement investigation.”
How have officials responded?
Officials clashed over the details of the shooting, with local officials describing it as avoidable and federal officials defending the use of force.
In a post on social media, Mr. Trump said he believed the agent had shot the driver in self-defense and falsely claimed the woman “violently, willfully, and viciously ran over” the officer.
Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, said at a news conference that the woman was “stalking” officers, and that the agent who killed her “used his training to save his life and those of his colleagues.”
Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis called federal accounts of the shooting “bullshit.” Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota urged residents to protest peacefully and said on social media, “Don’t believe this propaganda machine.”
“We have been warning for weeks that the Trump administration’s dangerous, sensationalized operations are a threat to our public safety,” Mr. Walz said at a news conference.
Why have federal agents deployed in Minnesota?
The Trump administration began an immigration crackdown in Minnesota last month, deploying scores of federal agents to the state. Federal immigration officers on Tuesday described their presence in Minnesota as the “largest operation to date.”
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement effort in the state is part of a broader deportation push that has targeted cities across the country since the start of Mr. Trump’s second term.
Immigration efforts in Minnesota have targeted undocumented immigrants, like in other cities, but singled out Somalis. The state has roughly 80,000 people of Somali ancestry, but the vast majority are American citizens or legal permanent residents.
Mr. Trump and his allies have portrayed the state as a failure of governance by its Democratic leaders, pointing to a fraud scheme that resulted in billions of dollars being pilfered from social service programs. The president has also repeatedly used derisive terms to describe the Somali diaspora in Minnesota.
Federal authorities said this week that they would increase their presence in the Minneapolis region. The original immigration enforcement operation, which began in December, focused on Somalis with final deportation orders.
Mr. Walz has accused federal agents in the state of racial profiling amid reports that many Somali Americans had been detained or questioned by immigration officers.
Hannah Ziegler is a general assignment reporter for The Times, covering topics such as crime, business, weather, pop culture and online trends.
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