Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Sunday that the Trump administration will deploy additional federal personnel to Minnesota as tensions escalate following last week’s fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer.
“We’re sending more officers today and tomorrow,” Noem said during an appearance on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo. “They’ll arrive—there’ll be hundreds more, in order to allow our ICE and our Border Patrol individuals that are working in Minneapolis to do so safely.”
The outlet that published the original report said it emailed DHS on Sunday afternoon seeking comment.
Why It Matters
As the White House intensifies its anti-immigration crackdown in major cities, Good’s death has become a political flashpoint. The administration has defended the ICE officer—identified in media reports as Jonathan Ross—while protests against ICE have spread in Minneapolis and beyond.
Noem has previously described Good, a U.S. citizen, as a “domestic terrorist,” and Vice President JD Vance called her a “deranged leftist,” alleging she threatened the agent’s life by trying to weaponize her car against him. Others have disputed that account, particularly after video of the incident from the officer’s perspective was released publicly.
Minnesota had already drawn heightened attention from the administration before the shooting, amid an ongoing investigation into alleged welfare fraud. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson has said that $9 billion or more in federal funds allocated to 14 state-run programs since 2018 may have been stolen.
What To Know
Noem spoke with Bartiromo about the federal response to the shooting and the path forward for the government’s presence in Minnesota.
Asked what more ICE could do to deter “agitators,” Noem said more officers would be sent to the state.
“If they conduct violent activities against law enforcement, if they impede our operations, that’s a crime and we will hold them accountable to those consequences,” Noem said.
She also criticized state and local leadership, arguing the federal government lacks cooperation from Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
“Unfortunately, when you don’t have the partnership of the city—[Minneapolis] Mayor [Jacob] Frey and Governor [Tim] Walz—have been very clear they’re going to continue their rhetoric, they’re going to continue to put criminals and corrupt illegal aliens above the people that live in that city and in that state—they’ve said they’re not going to help us, so we’re going to make sure we protect our officers, but that we also follow through on making sure those criminals are brought to justice,” Noem said.
The administration maintains that ICE personnel are carrying out lawful directives and should not be obstructed. However, some have challenged Vance’s claim that Ross had “absolute immunity” while performing his duties.
“The precedent here is very simple. You have a federal law enforcement official engaging in federal law enforcement action—that’s a federal issue. That guy is protected by absolute immunity. He was doing his job,” Vance told reporters at the White House last week.
Noem warned that anyone who attempts to interfere with ICE operations could face arrest and prosecution.
“I’ll remind everyone that every single thing that I’ve said has been factual about what’s going on in Minneapolis, what’s been going on in Minnesota, and with the incident that we had where we had a tragic loss of life,” Noem said.
“These law enforcement officers are trained to be in situations that are dangerous, and they rely on that training each and every day to make right decisions, and that’s what I’m so grateful for, is that we have professionals that stepped up and took an oath to serve this country and the American people,” she added.
What People Are Saying
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson, in an emailed statement to the outlet that published the original report: “The Trump Administration will enforce the law and prosecute criminals. Democrats must stop smearing law enforcement and inciting their followers to violence — that’s what increases tensions, not law enforcement simply doing their jobs.”
Noem wrote on X on Sunday: “ICE isn’t the problem. The problem is sanctuary politicians and the violent criminal illegal aliens they protect. President Trump and this administration work to protect every single American and make sure that they can live in a safe community and can raise their kids without fear.”
President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social last week: “I have just viewed the clip of the event which took place in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is a horrible thing to watch. The woman screaming was, obviously, a professional agitator, and the woman driving the car was very disorderly, obstructing and resisting, who then violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer, who seems to have shot her in self defense. Based on the attached clip, it is hard to believe he is alive, but is now recovering in the hospital. The situation is being studied, in its entirety, but the reason these incidents are happening is because the Radical Left is threatening, assaulting, and targeting our Law Enforcement Officers and ICE Agents on a daily basis. They are just trying to do the job of MAKING AMERICA SAFE. We need to stand by and protect our Law Enforcement Officers from this Radical Left Movement of Violence and Hate!”
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said last week during a YouTube interview: “We have an ICE agent who should have been trained not to be in front of a vehicle and never to shoot into a moving vehicle, and yet this happened on [Kristi Noem’s] watch. The whole point of Homeland Security is to make this country more stable and safe. And it is very clear on this administration’s watch that the opposite is what’s happened.”
What Happens Next
Noem said additional officers will arrive in Minnesota in the coming days, with more expected over the coming weeks, as the administration moves to reinforce ICE operations and bolster support for federal personnel.
