Video captures Minneapolis immigration arrest in a city on edge after
shooting of Renee Good
[January 12, 2026]
By REBECCA SANTANA, MIKE HOUSEHOLDER and MARK VANCLEAVE
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal agents carrying out immigration arrests in
Minnesota's Twin Cities region already shaken by the fatal shooting of a
woman rammed the door of one home Sunday and pushed their way inside,
part of what the Department of Homeland Security has called its largest
enforcement operation ever.
In a dramatic scene similar to those playing out across Minneapolis,
agents captured a man in the home just minutes after pepper spraying
protesters outside who had confronted the heavily armed federal agents.
Along the residential street, protesters honked car horns, banged on
drums and blew whistles in attempts to disrupt the operation.
Video of the clash taken by The Associated Press showed some agents
pushing back protesters while a distraught woman later emerged from the
house with a document that federal agents presented to arrest the man.
Signed by an immigration officer, the document — unlike a warrant signed
by a judge — does not authorize forced entry into a private residence. A
warrant signed by an immigration officer only authorizes arrest in a
public area.
Immigrant advocacy groups have conducted extensive “know-your-rights”
campaigns urging people not to open their doors unless agents have a
court order signed by a judge.
But within minutes of ramming the door in a neighborhood filled with
single-family homes, the handcuffed man was led away.
More than 2,000 immigration arrests have been made in Minnesota since
the enforcement operation began at the beginning of December, said
Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Fox News on Sunday that the
administration would send additional federal agents to Minnesota to
protect immigration officers and continue enforcement.
Minneapolis still tense after Renee Good shooting
The Twin Cities — the latest target in President Donald Trump’s
immigration enforcement campaign — is bracing for what is next after
37-year-old Renee Good was shot and killed by an immigration officer on
Wednesday.
“We’re seeing a lot of immigration enforcement across Minneapolis and
across the state, federal agents just swarming around our
neighborhoods,” said Jason Chavez, a Minneapolis city councilmember.
“They’ve definitely been out here.”
Chavez, the son of Mexican immigrants who represents an area with a
growing immigrant population, said he is closely monitoring information
from chat groups about where residents are seeing agents operating.
People holding whistles positioned themselves in freezing temperatures
on street corners Sunday in the neighborhood where Good was killed,
watching for any signs of federal agents.
More than 20,000 people have taken part in a variety of trainings to
become “observers” of enforcement activities in Minnesota since the 2024
election, said Luis Argueta, a spokesperson for Unidos MN, a local human
rights organization .
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A family member reacts after federal immigration officers make an
arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
“It’s a role that people choose to take on voluntarily, because they
choose to look out for their neighbors,” Argueta said.
The protests have been largely peaceful, but residents remained
anxious. On Monday, Minneapolis public schools will start offering
remote learning for the next month in response to concerns that
children might feel unsafe venturing out while tensions remain high.
Many schools closed last week after Good’s shooting and the upheaval
that followed.
Questions about who should handle investigation
While the enforcement activity continues, two of the state’s leading
Democrats said that the investigation into Good's shooting death
should not be overseen solely by the federal government.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and U.S. Sen. Tina Smith said in
separate interviews Sunday that state authorities should be included
in the investigation because the federal government has already made
clear what it believes happened.
“How can we trust the federal government to do an objective,
unbiased investigation, without prejudice, when at the beginning of
that investigation they have already announced exactly what they saw
— what they think happened," Smith said on ABC’s "This Week."
The Trump administration has defended the officer who shot Good in
her car, saying he was protecting himself and fellow agents and that
Good had “weaponized” her vehicle.
Todd Lyons, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement, defended the officer on Fox News Channel’s “The Sunday
Briefing.”
"That law enforcement officer had milliseconds, if not short time to
make a decision to save his life and his other fellow agents,” he
said.
Lyons also said the administration’s enforcement operations in
Minnesota wouldn't be needed “if local jurisdictions worked with us
to turn over these criminally illegal aliens once they are already
considered a public safety threat by the locals.”
The killing of Good by an ICE officer and the shooting of two people
by federal agents in Portland, Oregon, led to dozens of protests in
cities across the country over the weekend, including New York, Los
Angeles, Washington D.C. and Oakland, California.
___
Contributing were Associated Press journalists Giovanna Dell’Orto in
Minneapolis; Thomas Strong in Washington; Bill Barrow in Atlanta;
Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio.
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