If you looked out your window within the last few weeks, you’d most likely have seen the brown slush of snow and ice from the storm slowly melting. In Minneapolis right now, if you look out your windows, you might see law enforcement brutality, people protesting, and even people getting shot, with most people only hoping that ICE melts. The people of the US are currently witnessing and experiencing some tragic and cruel situations brought about by ICE. The media is crawling with reports from Minneapolis and now other places to the point where we hear about it daily. This entire situation is getting out of control and throwing things into disarray, but it is important that we all stay informed on the facts.
ICE is given funding of almost $75 billion – but people are divided on whether we should spend that money in different ways, or cut it entirely. Many people have ideas about how we should use that money and how we should take action on reforming ICE. According to the New York Times, one of these ideas is to ban ICE agents from wearing masks that cover their faces and instead force them to wear badges so they can be identified. Another similar idea is to add body cameras, because videos going around aren’t clear. One final idea is to just have greater oversight and have the agents be monitored a lot more seriously.
A current Minneapolis resident, Ursula, is practically in the center of all the tragic incidents. She can provide some insight into what it is like for someone to be living there, seeing the chaos, and fearing what might happen next.
Ursula comments that “everyone keeps getting overwhelmed because we think it’s going to end but it doesn’t.” Because of this, “the community and the neighborhoods have become very tight-knit.” The communities, according to her, have been showing up for each other and providing help amidst this chaos.
Some of the ways she and others have been helping are by bringing groceries to the people sheltering, giving donations, giving safety updates and being on the lookout for cars that could belong to ICE.
Noting how many people living in Minneapolis may look out their window and see tanks on the street, or hear the buzzing of helicopters above, Ursula states that it “kind of feels like a people versus the government situation.”
Many people like Ursula know someone who has been detained or killed by ICE. It’s hard to see neighbors or friends get affected by this situation, she says, which is why Minnesotans are doing what they can, and forming a strong group in which they engage in protests and community protection.
On January 24, 2026, 10 shots were fired into the body of an innocent person. Alex Pretti, the victim, was clearly already dead even before most of the other shots were fired – so was this actually a threat to ICE and the safety of our country or something else? Was this done to prove a point? These shots that were fired have lit the flame that is the peoples’ fight back against ICE agents. Alex Pretti and Renee Good – a mother of three who was shot dead by ICE – were the people who made the headlines, but there has been so much more brutality from ICE towards the people who live in our country – people such as Keith Porter Jr., a Black man with two children, who was shot by ICE agents, and at least six other people who have died in ICE custody, according to the Guardian.
It’s not just ordinary people in Minnesota who are reacting to ICE brutality and taking action; celebrities are speaking out as well. At the 2026 Grammy Awards, celebrities such as Justin and Hailey Bieber wore “ICE Out!” pins on their clothes, and celebrities like Billie Eilish and Bad Bunny even included condemnation of ICE in their speeches. Bruce Springsteen recently released a song titled “Streets of Minneapolis,” which has lines such as “we’ll take our stand for this land” and “we’ll remember the names of those who died on the streets of Minneapolis.” So many people have stood their ground against ICE and have voiced their opinion – as we can see through the numerous protests that have been held across the United States within the past few weeks.
At this point, practically everyone in the U.S. has heard of ICE and what they have been doing – it’s been all over the news. But what many don’t know is who ICE actually is and what legal action can be taken in order to stop it. According to former Chief of the Civil Rights Unit of the Southern District of New York in the Department of Justice, Ellen Blain, “ICE, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is part of the Department of Justice, which is run by the Attorney General of the United States, who is responsible to the President and carries out his priorities.”
She states that “ICE agents must comply with the Constitution” and that the “Fourth Amendment of the Constitution is particularly relevant here.” The Fourth Amendment focuses on security of people against “unreasonable searches and seizures” in their “persons, houses, papers, and effects.” Ms. Blain states that this means that “law enforcement officials cannot ‘unreasonably search’ a person or a place, ‘seize’ a person, or use ‘unreasonable’ force.”
ICE has to comply with this, along with the rest of the Constitution. There are three main things that ICE can do, according to Ms. Blain. She says that “first, ICE agents can briefly stop and question individuals about whom they have a specific reasonable suspicion are engaged in unlawful activity.” This is called a “Terry Stop,” which comes from the Terry vs. Ohio case in the Supreme Court in 1968, and it states that this is “lawful under the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures, but that stop must be brief, and law enforcement can only search over someone’s clothing.”
The second thing that ICE agents are legally allowed to do is “arrest someone if they have probable cause that the person has committed a crime,” and the third thing is that “ICE agents can also use force when necessary to do their jobs — but the force cannot be ‘unreasonable’ or excessive.”
Ms Blain states further: “The President says that ICE agents are arresting people who have violated the law by entering the country illegally. Critics say that ICE agents lack ‘reasonable suspicion’ to question individuals, that ICE agents lack probable cause to arrest individuals, and that ICE agents use excessive force when arresting people or responding to protestors. All of those actions are prohibited by the Fourth Amendment.” This is especially true in the cases of Alex Pretti, as he was just filming ICE agents attacking a civilian, an action that resulted in him getting wrestled to the ground, pepper sprayed, and shot 7 times. Ms Blain also remarks that the Supreme Court stated last year that it is “okay to stop people just based on their skin color” after events with the National Guard in California, but the meaning of this is unclear.
“Congress passed a law in 1861 — during Reconstruction after the Civil War — that makes it a crime for federal officers to violate the Constitution. Since then, the federal government has investigated federal officers for violating the Constitution, including the Fourth Amendment.” She elaborates that this “means that the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) investigates what happened, and if DOJ prosecutors conclude that the federal agent violated the Constitution, like the Fourth Amendment, the prosecutors will charge the agent with violating the law passed in 1861.”
Ms Blain further states that “no one is sure what happens if DOJ does not investigate federal officers, then it’s not clear who can. It’s not clear if the state can prosecute federal officers, because the federal government and its employees cannot be sued or prosecuted unless Congress passes a law that allows it. And Congress has not passed such a law.”
After Renee Good and Alex Pretti were killed, the DOJ announced that “it would not investigate the ICE agents involved in the shootings,” but some of the ICE agents involved have been put on leave. This caused a public uproar all over the country. Because of this, Ms. Blain said, “ DOJ leadership announced that it would — perhaps — assign attorneys to investigate the shootings.”
“Reporting over the last few days has also revealed,” she continued, “that DOJ initially wanted to investigate Renee Good and her partner who was in the car with her — instead of the ICE agents who shot Renee Good. It is not clear at the moment whether DOJ preserved any evidence related to the shootings.” Taking legal action against ICE is very complicated, and in many ways isn’t totally possible.
According to a lawyer who used to handle criminal civil rights cases at the Department of Justice, who wishes to remain anonymous, “ICE should likely be prosecuted for violating their civil rights under 18 USC 242. That law prohibits excessive force ‘under color of law,’ meaning by law enforcement, either state or federal.” He states that “usually, DOJ and the FBI usually connect with local law enforcement to assist with the investigation. According to the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment, which says the federal government cannot prosecute someone twice for the same alleged crime. The question arises, what if the first prosecution was by a state? Under federal law, the fact that the state prosecuted you once and failed to convict does NOT mean that the federal government cannot try again.”
He believes that what should happen is that ‘the federal government should open an investigation and either actively investigate (subpoenaing evidence and witnesses) or monitor what the state is doing.” Unfortunately, this has been much more complicated and problematic than it should have been. According to NPR, “the current DOJ has said it will not investigate the Good incident and seems to have been shamed into opening on paper the Preti incident.” President Donald Trump has posted insensitive and offensive things about Alex Pretti and Renee Good, further complicating the situation.
According to a report made by Taryn Merkl, a former Eastern District of New York prosecutor but now judge, these are the elements that any prosecution of ICE would have to prove: “First, the defendant was acting under color of law. This is usually easy as we only investigate police or corrections officers for these cases. Second, that the defendant acted willfully — meaning, deliberately or intentionally. This part is incredibly difficult, because it’s very easy for the officer to argue that he made a tragic mistake, or thought his/her own life was in danger. Third, some form of injury resulted. This requirement is actually quite easy, as any injury will do — even a bruise or a scrape.”
This lawyer who used to handle criminal civil rights cases at the Department of Justice believes that the agents should at least be investigated by the State of Minnesota: “It’s worrying that the federal agencies that should be helping these investigations instead seem to be interfering, and it is completely outrageous that the President is saying negative things about the victims.”
He also states that “convicting the ICE agents who shot Good and Pretti is not at all an open-and-shut or easy case. But there is a whole process and procedure in place that should have been followed to make that decision, and the current DOJ – mostly out of incompetence and malevolence – decided not to follow it.”
There is not any easy way to solve this problem. Democrats and Republicans are fighting over what action should be taken on ICE agents, the legal case is far more complicated than it should be, and people are watching as their friends and neighbors get shot or ripped from the very streets that they live on. The future is very hazy – but what we can do is attend those protests, contact our members of Congress, and stay safe in any way possible.
Note: In case you do encounter ICE, look here are the safe steps to be taken: https://immigrantjustice.org/for-immigrants/know-your-rights/ice-encounter/