U.S. Representative Shontel Brown has blamed President Donald Trump’s immigration policies for what she describes as a deadly escalation of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations.
Her comments follow the fatal shooting of Renee Goode during a large-scale ICE action in Minneapolis.
In a video message shared on Instagram, the Ohio Democrat said the woman’s death was not an isolated incident but the result of what she called the “weaponization of ICE” under Trump’s leadership.
Brown accused the former president of demonizing immigrants, targeting communities of color, and unleashing aggressive enforcement operations that she said have made communities less safe.
“What happened in Minneapolis this week was horrifying,” Brown said, stating that Goode was shot and killed during the ICE operation.
She described the incident as “an absolute tragedy” and said Democrats in Congress are now demanding a full investigation and accountability for both the officer involved and the agency as a whole.
Brown said lawmakers are examining every available legislative and budgetary tool to rein in ICE. These include restricting funding, reforming qualified immunity protections for ICE agents, and introducing legislation to prevent agents from concealing their identities with masks during operations.
According to the congresswoman, ICE raids carried out under Trump’s directives are often “chaotic, heavily armed, and terrifying” for families, arguing that local leaders in Minneapolis had already warned such operations would worsen public safety rather than improve it.
She linked the shooting to broader policy decisions made during Trump’s presidency, including executive actions that expanded ICE’s authority, the appointment of hardline leadership at the Department of Homeland Security, and Republican-backed budgets that significantly increased ICE funding while cutting social programs such as health care and food assistance.
Brown said she would continue pushing back against what she termed “mayhem” caused by federal immigration enforcement, urging communities to report alleged abuses and vowing to challenge ICE’s practices in Congress, the courts, and at the community level.
The Minneapolis shooting has intensified scrutiny of ICE’s tactics nationwide, adding to an already charged political debate over immigration enforcement, civil liberties, and the scope of federal police powers in the United States.
