Minneapolis Immigration Crackdown Turns Deadly as ICE Agent Fatally Shoots Woman

On January 7, 2026, a female was shot dead by an ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) officer in Minneapolis as part of a large investigation into immigration fraud among immigrants that the government was conducting, and considered the incident to be was the “domestic terrorism,” and the woman was supposedly trying to escape by running over the agents with her car.​

Incident Unfolds in South Minneapolis

The shooting took place in a residential area near East 34th Street and Portland Avenue that is south of downtown and near the historic immigrant markets. The ICE was making arrests of targeted individuals as part of a deployment of 2,000 federal personnel who were mainly in the Twin Cities and concentrating on the Somali community that was being accused of large-scale fraud. The video shows an officer shooting through the driver’s side window of the dark SUV several times as it was moving forward.​

DHS Defends ‘Defensive Shots’

According to DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, rioters blocked the ICE vehicles that were stuck in the snow, and the woman “weaponized her vehicle” to run over the officers, and some of them got hurt and will be recovering. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem characterized it as domestic terrorism while praising the agent’s training in saving lives. The woman, who was not publicly identified but was referred to by some Democrats as a spouse or legal observer of a local activist, died at the spot.​

Local Outrage and Protests Erupt

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey denounced ICE’s presence as “chaos” and demanded that the agents leave. Hundreds came to protest, and Governor Tim Walz was asking people to be calm. Some Democrats, like Rep. Ilhan Omar, were against the escalation while the officials continued to defend the raids as necessary.