JD Vance defends ICE after fatal Minneapolis shooting

Washington: US Vice President JD Vance defended an ICE officer who fatally shot a woman during an immigration enforcement action in Minneapolis, calling the death “a tragedy” while saying the officer acted in self-defence and accusing Democrats and parts of the media of stoking hostility toward federal agents.

Speaking at the White House on Thursday, Vance said the episode was “an attack on federal law enforcement” and insisted the woman, Renee Good, “aimed her car at a law enforcement officer and pressed on the accelerator.”

Vance, 41, said critics were misrepresenting what happened. He read a CNN headline — “Outrage after ICE officer kills US citizen in Minneapolis” — and said, “that is the way that many people in the corporate media have put this attack over the last 24 hours.”

He argued the officer had reason to fear for his life. “That very ICE officer nearly had his life ended, dragged by a car six months ago 33 stitches in his leg,” Vance said. “So you think maybe he’s a little bit sensitive about somebody ramming him with an automobile?”

Vance said Good was not an uninvolved bystander. “That woman was there to interfere with a legitimate law enforcement operation in the United States of America,” he said, adding, “She was trying to ram this guy with his — with her car. He shot back, he defended himself.”

Asked whether his language risked prejudging an investigation, Vance said, “the simple fact is what you see is what you get in this case,” and added, “You have a woman who is trying to obstruct a legitimate law enforcement operation, nobody debates that.”

He said public disputes over immigration policy should be resolved politically, not through confrontation with agents. “The best way to turn down the temperature is to tell people to take their concerns about immigration policy to the ballot box,” he said, adding, “We’re not — look, we’re not going to give in to terrorism on this.”

Vance also pushed back against state-level involvement in the investigation, saying, “You have a federal law enforcement official engaging in federal law enforcement action. That’s a federal issue.” He added, “That guy is protected by absolute immunity.”

White House Press Secretary Karolina Leavitt said the administration “stands fully behind the heroic men and women of ICE,” and tied the Minnesota case to what she called “a larger sinister left-wing movement” against federal law enforcement. She said ICE officers are facing “a 1,200 per cent increase in assaults, a 3,200 per cent increase in vehicle rammings and an 8,000 percent increase in death threats.”

Leavitt said DHS would continue operating in Minnesota, not only for immigration enforcement but also to pursue alleged fraud. She said the administration had “activated thousands of federal agents,” “doubled the number of US attorneys in the DOJ office in Minneapolis,” and “surged resources to hold fraudsters accountable.”

Vance accused Minnesota’s Democratic leadership of enabling wrongdoing and unrest. “Tim Walz is a joke,” he said, adding that the governor had “enabled fraud and maybe in fact, has participated in fraud.”

Immigration and Customs Enforcement is a federal agency responsible for enforcing immigration laws inside the United States, including identifying, detaining and removing people in the country unlawfully. It has been a flashpoint in US politics for years, particularly around deportations and the scope of federal power.

IANS