US immigration officer fatally shoots woman during Minneapolis crackdown

A US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis on Wednesday during the Trump administration’s latest immigration enforcement operation in a residential neighborhood south of downtown Minneapolis, only a few blocks from some of the area’s oldest immigrant markets. The location is about a mile from where George Floyd was killed by police in 2020.

Federal officials said the officer fired in self-defence during an encounter with a motorist.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, speaking during a visit to Texas, defended the officer’s actions and the enforcement operation. She described the incident as an "act of domestic terrorism" directed at ICE officers.

According to Noem, the woman attempted to run over federal agents and rammed them with her vehicle, leaving the officer with little choice but to open fire.

"An officer of ours acted quickly and defensively, shot, to protect himself and the people around him," Noem said.

She also confirmed that more than 2,000 officers and agents have been deployed to Minneapolis and St Paul as part of the operation, adding that authorities have already made "hundreds and hundreds" of arrests.

MAYOR CONDEMNS FEDERAL ACTION

Mayor Frey responded with a blistering rebuke of both the shooting and the federal deployment, arguing that ICE officers were not contributing to safety in the city.

"They’re ripping families apart. They’re sowing chaos on our streets and in this case quite literally killing people," he added.

Frey also dismissed claims that the officer acted in self-defence, saying he had reviewed video footage of the incident.

"They are already trying to spin this as an action of self-defence. Having seen the video myself, I wanna tell everybody directly, that is bull****," the mayor said.

PROTESTERS FACE OFF WITH POLICE AT SHOOTING LOCATION

A large crowd gathered near the scene after the shooting, directing anger at both local and federal officers present. Protesters shouted slogans, blew whistles and heckled officers standing behind police tape, scenes that echoed earlier immigration crackdowns in cities such as Los Angeles and Chicago.

"Shame! Shame! Shame!" and "ICE out of Minnesota!" protesters chanted.

The killing marks an escalation in a series of immigration enforcement operations carried out in major American cities under the Trump administration. It is at least the fifth death linked to such operations since 2024.

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With inputs from agencies