A woman dies from shots fired by U.S. immigration agents in Minnesota

Miami.- A woman died this Wednesday after being shot by agents of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Minnesota in a confrontation over the growing immigration raids in that state, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported.

Tricia McLaughlin, DHS Undersecretary, noted that the woman was "a violent rioter who used her vehicle as a weapon, attempting to run over the officers in an attempt to kill them," which she called an "act of domestic terrorism," for which an ICE agent who "feared for his life" carried out "defensive shots". «The alleged perpetrator was shot and is dead. The injured ICE officers are expected to make a full recovery», the official indicated on her social media, who did not reveal the identity or nationality of the victim. For her part, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem also accused the woman shot in Minnesota of committing "an act of domestic terrorism," assuring that the authorities acted in "self-defense" and that the episode demonstrates that, according to her, these operatives are exposed to attacks "daily."

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"We are still gathering more information, but this demonstrates the aggressions our ICE agents and law enforcement face every day," Noem said during a press conference in Brownsville, Texas.

ICE's Huge Operation in Minnesota

The event occurred while ICE officers were conducting an operation in Minneapolis, the largest city in Minnesota, where DHS reported the accumulated detention of more than 1,000 migrants, some from Ecuador, Mexico and El Salvador, including more than 150 on Monday, the largest immigration operation so far this year. The DHS reported in a statement the arrest of a thousand "murderers, rapists, pedophiles and gang members in Minnesota", including more than 150 apprehensions of "illegal aliens" on Monday, which constitutes the largest immigration operation so far in 2026. The agency highlighted the arrest of Ecuadorians, including the case of Tomás Espín Tapia, "a fugitive wanted for homicide in Ecuador and a sexual predator," and in whose arrest Secretary Kristi Noem personally participated, who traveled to Minnesota, governed by Democrat Tim Walz. In addition, he published images of detained migrants from Mexico, El Salvador, Laos, Vietnam, and Liberia. «We are going to expose and hold accountable the rampant fraud and criminality occurring in Minnesota», Noem declared.

The Mayor of Minneapolis Accuses ICE of "Killing People"

For his part, the mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, accused ICE of "killing people" after shooting and killing a woman, in addition to demanding that they "get the fuck out". "They are not here to cause security in this city. What they are doing is not giving security to the United States. What they are doing is causing chaos and distrust. They are separating families, they are sowing chaos in our cities and, in this case, they are literally killing people," he denounced in a press conference. The mayor, from the Democratic Party, called the Department of Homeland Security's argument that the agents shot the 37-year-old woman as an act of self-defense during a protest against the increasing immigration raids in Minnesota "shit" and "garbage".

The distraught woman was white, middle-aged, and not the target of any operation, pointed out Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara at the conference, while Minnesota Senator Tina Smith noted on her social media that, "apparently," the victim was an "American citizen." "There is nothing to indicate that this woman was the target of any law enforcement activity or operation. This woman was in her car and it appears she was blocking the street due to the presence of the officers, which has obviously been happening, not only in Minneapolis, but throughout the country," commented O'Hara.

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The events occur amidst the controversy in Minnesota, where the governor and former Democratic candidate for the U.S. vice presidency in 2024, Tim Walz, announced this Monday that he will not seek a third term due to the controversy over million-dollar fraud related to childcare programs linked to the Somali community.

Faced with this scandal, CNN reported on Monday that the administration of President Donald Trump planned to send about 2,000 federal agents to Minneapolis to lead a campaign to arrest immigrants from the Somali community and other countries.

Today's events also recall the 2020 death of African American George Floyd at the hands of the police in Minneapolis, which sparked massive protests across the United States, demanding justice and denouncing racism and police brutality.