New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani criticized the training and conduct of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on Thursday, responding to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s defense of an ICE officer involved in the fatal shooting of a woman in Minneapolis earlier this week.
“If that is ‘following his training,’ then I think there are larger questions about the training that’s being provided to ICE agents,” Mamdani said in an interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on “The Source.”
Mamdani, a frequent critic of the Trump administration’s stepped-up immigration enforcement, reacted after watching video of the shooting involving Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen. He described the death as “murder” and called the incident emblematic of what he said has been “a year full of cruelty” under the current administration.
“We can all see that video and come to our own conclusions that that ICE agent murdered a woman in Minneapolis,” Mamdani said. “These ICE raids are cruel and inhumane and they do nothing to further the cause or the interest of public safety.”
His comments came after Noem said at a Minneapolis press conference that the agent acted in self-defense and followed standard training when he opened fire. Noem has argued that Good used her vehicle as a weapon and attempted to run the agent over, and that federal officers have faced rising threats during enforcement operations.
Footage of the incident, which has circulated widely online, shows Good’s vehicle reversing and then moving forward and turning as shots are fired. It remains unclear whether the vehicle struck the officer. The agent was taken to a hospital and later released.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is leading the investigation into the shooting, which occurred Wednesday morning during an ICE operation that was disrupted by snow.
The dispute underscores escalating friction between the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and Democratic-led sanctuary cities. New York City, under Mamdani, has reaffirmed its sanctuary status and said it will not cooperate with ICE actions targeting non-criminal immigrants.
Noem has repeatedly condemned sanctuary policies in cities such as New York and Minneapolis, arguing they shield criminals and endanger public safety. She has pointed to federal operations that have resulted in thousands of arrests of individuals she has described as dangerous offenders.
The Minneapolis shooting has sparked protests nationwide, including in New York City, where demonstrators have denounced federal enforcement actions and called for an end to ICE raids.
Mamdani told Collins he has raised his concerns directly with the president, warning that the current approach to immigration enforcement puts communities at risk.
“When ICE agents attack immigrants, they attack every single one of us across this country,” he said.
The White House and the Department of Homeland Security have not issued a formal response to Mamdani’s latest remarks.
