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‘The majority of my colleagues feel the same way. It’s an insult to us,’ one former agent said
Mike Bedigan in New York Thursday 15 January 2026 00:03 GMT- Bookmark
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Some ICE agents are “embarrassed” by the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minnesota, saying that the current behavior of the agency is “an insult” to past members.
“I’m embarrassed,” a former agent with more than 25 years of experience told TIME. “The majority of my colleagues feel the same way. It’s an insult to us, because we did it the right way to see what they’re doing now.”
The Trump administration has defended the actions of the agent, Jonathan Ross, who shot the 37-year-old three times through the windshield of her car, saying she had been committing “an act of domestic terrorism.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt described Good as a “lunatic,” while President Trump claimed without evidence that she and her now-widow were “professional agitators.”
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open image in gallery(AFP via Getty Images)Even current ICE agents say they have concerns about Ross’s conduct. “If you fear for your life and you're in imminent danger, policy says you could fire at that vehicle if there's no other recourse,” a current agent told TIME.
Ross shot Good while she was driving an SUV on a residential street in Minneapolis last Wednesday. Footage of the shooting has drawn intense scrutiny, with Democrats accusing Ross of acting recklessly and Republicans claiming Good attempted to strike the agent.
“If someone is able to make the argument that she was trying to hit him, he feared for his life, and all he could do was shoot…then sure, he can justify it that way,” the current agent added. “But I think when you look at it a little bit more, it's… very problematic for him,” the agent said.
open image in gallery(AFP/Getty)Both the current and former agents also questioned why Ross had been assigned to the Minneapolis operation, given that he had previously been involved in an incident involving a runaway driver in June 2025, in which he sustained injuries.
“That, to me, has red flags all over it,” the former ICE agent said, adding that it was likely that Ross’s previous experience had affected his reaction to the situation.
“So when this person took off, I'm sure that prior incident came to mind, because he's an experienced officer. And then he just reacted, in my opinion, not in the correct way,” they said.
open image in galleryImmigration Enforcement Minnesota (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)Good’s death has set off widespread protests across the country, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has said “hundreds” more federal law enforcement agents will be deployed to Minnesota to protect its officers amid the outcry.
State and local officials in Minnesota sued the Trump administration earlier this week, alleging the ongoing DHS immigration crackdown violates the Constitution.
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