We all spent the last few seconds of 2025 in the last few seconds of peace, waiting for the stroke of midnight to hit. We all celebrated in our own ways, however, for Keith Porter; he celebrated by firing a shot into the air. This is a common trend celebrated by many in the LA area and acknowledged by city officials.
Locals, regardless of race, have said it’s tradition to hear gunfire along with fireworks on New Year’s. According to Homeland Security, an off-duty ICE agent said he heard gunfire and went to respond to the shooting, and saw Porter with a gun and shot Porter, killing him.
The ICE agent was finally identified by the LA Times on Jan. 16th as Brian Palacios, and lived in the same complex as Porter. Palacios “allegedly whipped his sons with a belt and made racist and homophobic remarks in the past, according to documents obtained by The Times.”
Only a week later, the life of one of our own here in Minneapolis, Renee Good, would be fatally shot by an ICE agent. Good by all accounts and as seen by multiple witnesses and video recordings was seen waving ICE officers to pass. Thenwhen things were escalating, Good tried to drive away from them.
ICE agents, after the shooting, refused all available medical aid that was offered by a bystander who had a medical background. You could see other videos of Good’s wife in distress as they watched their wife unable to help them from the sidewalk.
The ICE Agent who took Good’s life was Jonathan Ross. He claims to be stuck by the vehicle, but according to the training provided to ICE agents, that would still not qualify for the level of force he used on Good.
“DHS and ICE policies also prohibit firing at moving vehicles except in rare situations where doing so is necessary to stop an imminent threat. They emphasize that shooting at a driver creates grave risks for passengers, bystanders, and the public.”
No matter where you sit on the political spectrum, no one should be looking at how ICE is using “tactical” use of force and thinking it is humane. In Portland, Luis David Nico Moncada and Zambrano-Contreras were shot by an ICE agent who claims they had gang-related affiliations and feared for their life.
Thankfully, both have recovered and been released from the hospital. Little information has been given by ICE showing proof of affiliation or any further information about the shooting in general.
Minnesota locals are doing what we do best and being there for our neighbors, stepping up and helping when and where we can. On Jan 8th, Anna Brauch thought nothing of it to sit outside a local bakery to warn them if ICE was in the area, only to be taken forcefully by them herself.
Regardless of her being a US citizen, she was forcefully grabbed by the neck and groped by officers. Once in the vehicle, she was not properly secured and continued to be abused and pulled by her handcuffs by the officers.
There was no proper procedure upon her arrival at the facility, and she was repeatedly asked who had arrested her and for her information. Eventually, she was taken to the hospital for medical treatment and released with no charges.
There have been too many incidents revolving around ICE for some of the bigger items since July 31, 2025. There has been an Immigration Policy Tracking Project specific to ICE’s use of force.
On the positive side, our quick call to action has been helping in some of our protests. In one situation where a pregnant woman was being dragged on her back by one ICE agent while only one other agent was present, people in the area took it upon themselves to fight back with snowballs.
Allowing a couple of others to grab the woman while the two ICE agents were distracted, once they realized they no longer had her, they ran off towards the car. The woman has been reported to be doing okay, has felt the support from the community, and has really felt protected.
Unfortunately, TikTok blocked the video from being linked.
Other good news for future protests, on Jan 16th, Judge Katherine Menendez of the U.S. district court in Minnesota, as it applies to federal agents and officers participating in Operation Metro Surge:
“The injunction for now prohibits retaliating against persons who are engaging in peaceful and unobstructive protest activity, including observing the activities of Operation Metro Surge[…] Federal law enforcement is also ordered not to detain or arrest otherwise lawful protesters, use pepper spray against them as a crowd dispersal measure, or stop vehicles when there is no reasonable suspicion those inside are hindering federal agents’ and officers’ efforts on immigration.”
*As of editing the article On Jan 21st this order was revoked by the 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
There is one thing I haven’t highlighted so far in my article, and that is the overall number of lives lost by ICE in detention facilities. I won’t go into the details of each one; feel free to check out here.
According to the Guardian’s research, thirty-two people died in ICE custody in 2025, which is tied for the agency’s deadliest year, with the last one taking place over two decades ago in 2004.
Here is the list of those who have passed while in ICE custody in 2025;
- Genry Ruiz Guillén, 29 years old, died on the 23rd of January.
- Serawit Gezahegn Dejene, 45 years old, died on the 29th of January.
- Maksym Chernyak, 44 years old, died on the 20th of February.
- Juan Alexis Tineo-Martinez, 44 years old, died on the 23rd of February.
- Brayan Garzón-Rayo, 27 years old, died on the 8th of April.
- Nhon Ngoc Nguyen, 55 years old, died on the 16th of April.
- Marie Ange Blaise, 44 years old, died on the 25th of April.
- Abelardo Avellaneda Delgado, 68 years old, died on the 5th of May.
- Jesus Molina-Veya, 45 years old, died on the 7th of June.
- Johnny Noviello, 49 years old, died on the 23rd of June.
- Isidro Pérez, 75 years old, died on the 26th of June.
- Tien Xuan Phan, 55 years old, died on the 19th of July.
- Chaofeng Ge, 32 years old, died on the 5th of August.
- Lorenzo Antonio Batrez Vargas, 32 years old, died on the 31st of August.
- Oscar Rascon Duarte, 58 years old, died on the 8th of September.
- Santos Banegas Reyes, 42 years old, died on the 18th of September.
- Ismael Ayala-Uribe, 39 years old, died on the 22nd of September.
- Norlan Guzman-Fuentes, 37 years old, died on the 24th of September.
- Miguel Ángel García Medina, 31 years old, died on the 29th of September.
- Huabing Xie, age unknown, died on the 29th of September
- Leo Cruz-Silva, 34 years old, died on the 4th of October.
- Hasan Ali Moh ’ D Saleh, 67 years old, died on the 11th of October.
- Josué Castro Rivera, 25 years old, died on the 23rd of October.
- Gabriel Garcia Aviles, 54 years old, died on the 23rd of October.
- Kai Yin Wong, 63 years old, died on the 25th of October.
- Francisco Gaspar-Andrés, 48 years old, died on the 3rd of December.
- Pete Sumalo Montejo, 72 years old, died on the 5th of December.
- Shiraz Fatehali Sachwani, 48 years old, died on the 6th of December.
- Jean Wilson Brutus, 41 years old, died on the 12th of December.
- Fouad Saeed Abdulkadir, 46 years old, died on the 14th of December.
- Delvin Francisco Rodriguez, 39 years old, died on the 14th of December.
- Nenko Stanev Gantchev, 56 years old, died on the 15th of December.
According to Detention Watch Network, four people have already died in ICE custody this year (2026).
- Geraldo Lunas Campos, 55 years old, died on the 3rd of January.
- Luis Gustavo Nunez Caceres, 42 years old, died on the 5th of January.
- Luis Beltran Yanez–Cruz, 68 years old, died on the 6th of January.
- Parady La, 46 years old, died on the 9th of January.
Sources
Ault, Trevor, et al. “Portland Shooting Latest: Police Chief Alleges Gang ‘nexus;’ 2 Shot Remain in Hospital.” ABC News, 10 Jan. 2026, abcnews.go.com/US/2-shot-federal-agents-portland-sources/story?id=129038573.
Collins, Jon. “Fear Factor: Intimidation Becomes a Calling Card as Twin Cities ICE Surge Widens.” MPR News, 16 Jan. 2026, www.mprnews.org/story/2026/01/16/ice-tactics-in-twin-cities-turn-toward-intimidation.
Cperez. “4 ICE Detention Deaths in Just 10 Days Into the New Year.” Detention Watch Network, 14 Jan. 2026, www.detentionwatchnetwork.org/pressroom/releases/2026/4-ice-detention-deaths-just-10-days-new-year.
Czachor, Emily Mae. “Renee Good, the Driver Shot and Killed by an ICE Agent in Minneapolis, Was a Mom and Widow. Here’s What We Know.” CBS News, 10 Jan. 2026, www.cbsnews.com/news/renee-good-killed-ice-minneapolis-what-we-know.
Law, Rebecca Pirius Attorney ·. Mitchell Hamline School Of. “Understanding the Legal Limits on ICE: Detentions, Arrests, Force, and Your Rights.” www.nolo.com, 16 Jan. 2026, www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/understanding-the-legal-limits-on-ice-detentions-arrests-force-and-your-rights.html.
“National Guard Mobilized Amid Minneapolis Clashes.” NBC News, 17 Jan. 2026, www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/us-judge-orders-federal-agents-stop-pepper-spraying-retaliating-peacef-rcna254514.
Queally, James, et al. “ICE Agent Who Killed L.A. Man Accused of Child Abuse, Racism in Court Filings – Los Angeles Times.” Los Angeles Times, 17 Jan. 2026, www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-01-16/ice-agent-los-angeles-shooting-court-records.
Reported: Uses of Force Increase During Immigration-enforcement Actions | Immigration Policy Tracking Project. immpolicytracking.org/policies/reported-increase-in-ice-use-of-force-during-arrests-including-smashing-car-windows.
Singh, Maanvi, et al. “2025 Was ICE’s Deadliest Year in Two Decades. Here Are the 32 People Who Died in Custody.” The Guardian, 7 Jan. 2026, www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/jan/04/ice-2025-deaths-timeline.
