‘Shame’: ICE agent fatally shoots woman amid immigration crackdown in US; protests erupt

The woman was killed in a modest neighborhood south of downtown Minneapolis, just blocks from some of the city’s oldest immigrant-run markets.

Chaos erupted on United States' Minneapolis streets on Wednesday when an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer opened fire on the woman while she was inside her vehicle, according to the department of homeland security.

A member of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) restrains a protester trying to block vehicles from leaving the scene after a driver of a vehicle was shot in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., January 7, 2026. (REUTERS)

The shooting took place in a residential neighborhood, DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that the officer acted after the 37-year-old woman tried to strike officers on the scene, reported Associated Press.

The killing marks a sharp escalation in the latest round of immigration crackdowns being carried out in major US cities under the Trump administration. It is at least the fifth fatality linked to immigration enforcement operations across several states since 2024, the news agency reported.

Trump says ICE shooting video ‘horrible to watch’

US President Donald Trump on Thursday defended the ICE agent involved in the fatal shooting of a woman during an immigration operation in Minneapolis, saying the incident appeared to be an act of self-defense.

Reacting to footage of the shooting, Trump said the video was a “horrible thing to watch” and alleged that the woman had deliberately targeted the officer.

“The woman driving the car was very disorderly, obstructing and resisting, who then violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer, who seems to have shot her in self defense,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The woman was killed in a modest neighborhood south of downtown Minneapolis, just blocks from some of the city’s oldest immigrant-run markets. The location is also about a mile from where George Floyd was killed by police in 2020, an event that reshaped national debates on policing and racial justice, the AP report added.

Protests erupt at shooting site

News of the shooting quickly drew a large crowd of protesters to the scene. Demonstrators confronted both local and federal officers, including Gregory Bovino, a senior US Customs and Border Patrol official who has emerged as a prominent figure in immigration crackdowns in Los Angeles, Chicago and other cities.

The scene mirrored previous operations in those cities, with bystanders heckling officers and blowing whistles – a tactic that has become common during immigration raids.

“Shame! Shame! Shame!” and “ICE out of Minnesota!” protesters shouted from behind police tape.

Mayor condemns federal presence

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey strongly criticised the federal operation following the shooting, accusing immigration agents of destabilising the city.

“Immigration agents were ‘causing chaos in our city,’” Frey said.

“We are demanding ICE leave the city and state immediately. We stand rock solid with our immigrant and refugee communities," he added in a post on social media.

Fear spreads through immigrant communities

Minneapolis and neighboring St Paul have been on edge since DHS announced on Tuesday the launch of a large-scale enforcement operation in the Twin Cities.

Around 2,000 agents and officers are expected to take part in the crackdown, which officials have said is tied in part to allegations of fraud involving Somali residents.

Community leaders say the crackdown has deepened fear among immigrant families already living with uncertainty.

“We’ve been trying to live life as fully as possible in light of the fear and anxiety that we feel,” said the Rev. Hierald Osorto, pastor at St. Paul’s-San Pablo Lutheran Church, which serves a predominantly Latino congregation in the area.

The investigation into the shooting remains ongoing.