• Tensions escalate nationwide after another shooting in Oregon
• Local investigators shut out of probe
• Trump administration officials continue to defend officers’ actions

MINNEAPOLIS: The Minnesota National Guard on Friday was placed on alert as protests erupted across the United States after a second shooting by immigration officers in two days deepened rifts between state and federal officials over President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown.

Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother, was fatally shot on Wednesday by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in Minneapolis.

Protests intensified after Trump administration officials accused the Minneapolis victim, Good, of “domestic terrorism”, with Vice President JD Vance alleging, without providing evidence, that she was part of a “broader left-wing network” opposed to ICE.

The situation further escalated on Thursday afternoon when a US Border Patrol agent shot and wounded a man and a woman in Portland, Oregon.

In both instances, local and state officials offered accounts that starkly contradicted those of the federal government, complaining they were being shut out of investigations in their own jurisdictions.

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in Minneapolis chanting “shame” and “murder” at armed and masked federal officers. Some officers used tear gas and pepper balls on the crowd.

Facing the potential for further civil unrest, Minnesota Gov Tim Walz put the state’s National Guard on alert.

Good’s fatal shooting sparked national outrage and duelling narratives. The Trump administration insisted the officer acted in self-defence when Good allegedly attempted to run him over. Vance called her death “a tragedy of her own making”.

However, local Minnesota officials directly challenged the federal government’s version of events. Walz warned the public not to believe what he described as a “propaganda machine,” while Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called ICE’s characterisation of the shooting “bulls—”.

State officials also said they were denied access to scene evidence, case materials and interviews, leading the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to withdraw from the probe.

The FBI will now be solely responsible for the investigation, a development Walz said made him pessimistic about a “fair outcome”.

US Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told reporters that Minnesota simply did not have jurisdiction.

Bystander video of the Minneapolis shooting shows two masked officers approaching Good’s car before a third officer draws his weapon and fires three times as the vehicle moves forward.

It was unclear from the footage whether the car made contact with the agent. Trump later claimed on social media that the woman “ran over the ICE Officer”.

Michelle Gross, president of the Minnesota-based Communities United Against Police Brutality, said Good was a US citizen participating in a “neighbourhood patrol” that observes and documents ICE activities.

In the Portland incident, DHS claimed a suspected Venezuelan gang member attempted to “weaponise” his vehicle. Local police confirmed two people were later found with gunshot wounds and hospitalised. Oregon Gov Tina Kotek condemned the use of federal force as an unnecessary provocation.

“When a president endorses tearing families apart and attempts to govern through fear and hate rather than shared values, you foster an environment of lawlessness and recklessness,” Kotek said.

The shootings occurred amid a massive surge in federal enforcement tied to Trump’s campaign promise to carry out the “largest deportation operation in American history.”

The ICE agent who shot Good was reportedly among 2,000 federal officers deployed to Minneapolis in what the administration described as the “largest DHS operation ever”.

Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2026