A federal immigration agent shot a man in the leg during an enforcement operation in Minneapolis on Wednesday night, sparking clashes with demonstrators in what the mayor said turned into an “unsustainable” situation.
It was the second ICE-related shooting in the city in just over a week, with tensions rising since the fatal shooting of Renee Good on 7 January amid a major immigration crackdown that has seen thousands of ICE officers sent to Minnesota’s largest city.
The US Department of Homeland Security said federal officers were involved in a chase of a Venezuelan man they claim was in the country illegally.
The person drove away and crashed into a parked car before fleeing on foot, DHS said.
After officers reached the person, two other people arrived from a nearby apartment and attacked the officer “with a snow shovel and broom handle,” according to DHS.
“Fearing for his life and safety as he was being ambushed by three individuals, the officer fired a defensive shot to defend his life,” DHS said.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the man shot was in hospital with a non-life-threatening injury and the two people who came out of the apartment were in custody.
The shooting was followed by clashes between federal officers and protesters calling on ICE to leave the city. ICE agents wearing gas masks fired tear gas while some protesters threw rocks and shot fireworks.
The US Department of Homeland Security says ICE agents have made more than 2,000 arrests in Minnesota since early December and has vowed to continue operations.
Situation ‘defies belief,’ Governor Walz says
Tensions have risen since the fatal shooting of Good on 7 January, further escalating on Wednesday.
Bystanders have demanded officers leave after watching agents remove people from cars and homes, in a situation Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called “unsustainable.”
“This is an impossible situation that our city is presently being put in and at the same time we are trying to find a way forward to keep people safe, to protect our neighbours, to maintain order,” Frey said Wednesday.
Frey described a federal force five times as large as the city’s 600-officer police force that has arrived in the city, creating tension among residents, some of whom want officers to “fight ICE agents.”
“We cannot be in a place right now in America where we have two governmental entities that are literally fighting one another.”
Frey added the Minneapolis police force is still responsible for its day-to-day work as 3,000 ICE officers “are creating chaos,” adding “this is not the path that we should be on right now in America.”
During a televised speech before Wednesday’s shooting, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz described Minnesota as being in chaos, saying what’s happening in the state “defies belief.”
“Let’s be very, very clear, this long ago stopped being a matter of immigration enforcement,” he said. “Instead, it’s a campaign of organised brutality against the people of Minnesota by our own federal government.”
Democrats propose laws to limit ICE
Democratic lawmakers across the country are proposing state law changes to limit immigration enforcement.
New Jersey’s Democrat-led Legislature passed three bills Monday that immigrant rights groups have long pushed for, including a measure prohibiting state law enforcement officers from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement.
California lawmakers are proposing to ban local and state law enforcement from taking second jobs with the Department of Homeland Security and make it a violation of state law when ICE officers make “indiscriminate” arrests around court appearances.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul wants the state to allow people to sue federal officers alleging violations of their constitutional rights. Another measure aims to keep immigration agents lacking judicial warrants out of schools, hospitals and houses of worship.
Minnesota and Illinois, joined by their largest cities, sued the Trump administration this week. Minneapolis and Minnesota accuse the Republican administration of violating free speech rights by punishing a progressive state that favours Democrats and welcomes immigrants.
The Trump administration has opposed efforts to limit ICE operations, including suing local governments whose “sanctuary” policies limit police interactions with federal officers.