ICE’S DANGEROUS TACTICSHow Many People Have Been Shot in ICE Raids?
The Trace has identified 16 incidents in which immigration agents opened fire and another 15 incidents in which agents held someone at gunpoint since the crackdown began. At least three people have been shot observing or documenting immigration raids, and five people have been shot while driving away from traffic stops or evading an enforcement action.
This story was originally published by The Trace, a nonprofit newsroom covering gun violence in America. Sign up for its newsletters here.
On January 7, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen, Renee Good, was fatally shot by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis. Good’s car had been blocking traffic. Video showed her backing up and driving away from the agents before one of them fired. The agents claim she tried to run them over.
The shooting ignited a national firestorm. But Good is not the only person who has been killed or injured by federal agents since President Donald Trump launched his immigration crackdown. The crackdown started in Los Angeles in June before spreading to Washington, D.C.; Chicago; Memphis, Tennessee; Portland, Oregon; Charlotte, North Carolina; New Orleans; and now Minneapolis. And where immigration agents have gone, gun violence has usually followed.
Using Gun Violence Archive data and news clips, The Trace has identified 16 incidents in which immigration agents opened fire and another 15 incidents in which agents held someone at gunpoint since the crackdown began. At least three people have been shot observing or documenting immigration raids, and five people have been shot while driving away from traffic stops or evading an enforcement action. On September 30, agents raided a Chicago apartment building and held half-asleep tenants and their children at gunpoint.
Renee Good was one of four people who have been killed. Another seven people have been injured.
It’s hard to tell whether that’s a higher number of gun-related incidents than usual, as up-to-date data on federal use of force is hard to find. According to the most recent Department of Homeland Security report, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were involved in five gun-related use-of-force incidents in fiscal year 2023. Customs and Border Protection agents were involved in 18. The report does not provide any details about these incidents, including where they occurred, how many deaths or injuries there were, or whether the victim was armed.
Our numbers, derived from news reports, are likely an undercount, as shootings involving immigration agents are not always publicly reported.
