Thousands of demonstrators have flooded streets across the United States in a powerful wave of protest following two separate shootings involving federal immigration agents, which left one woman dead and two others injured.
Shootings Spark National Outrage
The protests were triggered by the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good in Minneapolis on Wednesday. According to authorities, the incident occurred while she was inside her car. In a separate event in Portland, Oregon, another immigration enforcement officer shot and wounded two individuals.
The US Department of Homeland Security has stated that both shootings were acts of self-defence, with officials claiming the drivers were "weaponising" their vehicles. This justification, offered by President Donald Trump's administration, has done little to quell the public uproar.
"ICE Out for Good": A Coordinated National Response
Many of the weekend rallies adopted the slogan "ICE Out for Good", a pointed reference to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. The organising group, along with its local chapters, reported coordinating nationwide protests last year, with events held in every single US state.
The demonstrations come as the Department of Homeland Security pushes forward with what it describes as its biggest-ever immigration enforcement operation, centred on the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Major Federal Deployment Under Scrutiny
As part of this expanded enforcement drive, the Trump administration has deployed more than 2,000 federal personnel to Minnesota. Notably, some of these officers were abruptly reassigned from Louisiana, where they had been involved in a separate operation launched last month that was scheduled to continue until February.
In Minneapolis, the police chief reported that officers faced projectiles including ice, snow, and rocks during the protests. Meanwhile, vigils and rallies from Portland to Minneapolis saw crowds holding signs labelling ICE agents as murderers and calling for an end to current immigration enforcement practices.
