Who has ICE used deadly force against in 2026?
Executive summary
In 2026 federal immigration agents have been implicated in at least two deadly uses of force in Minneapolis: the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good and another fatal shooting during protests that reporters identify as Alex Pretti, both drawing national scrutiny and investigations [1] [2] [3]. Reporting also documents additional shootings involving ICE officers — including an off‑duty Los Angeles incident and several non‑fatal shootings — but available sources show ongoing disputes about facts, legal standards and agency transparency [4] [5] [6].
1. Minneapolis killings that put ICE under a microscope
The most widely reported deaths in 2026 involving federal immigration agents are the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis and a separate January incident in which a man identified in local reporting as Alex Pretti was shot and later died; both events have prompted state and federal inquiries and intense public debate [1] [2] [3]. Coverage shows bystander videos and conflicting accounts have become central to determining what happened, and prosecutors and civil authorities are still parsing limited on‑scene evidence as of the latest reporting [5] [7].
2. What ICE and DHS say about use of force
ICE and the Department of Homeland Security have defended agents’ actions as consistent with training that emphasizes minimum necessary force and de‑escalation, and DHS has pointed to its 2023 guidelines that restrict shooting at moving vehicles and bar lethal force against mere flight absent an imminent threat [1] [8]. Federal officials also framed one Minneapolis incident as involving a reportedly armed assailant in public statements, a characterization that some reporters contest after analyzing bystander video showing the man holding a phone [9] [2].
3. A broader pattern of confrontations and shootings
News organizations and watchdogs report a string of confrontations since the expanded enforcement push began in 2025: journalists and legal observers have documented aggressive tactics, broken windows, people dragged from vehicles and multiple shootings — some fatal, some nonfatal — involving ICE and related federal immigration officers [5] [4]. The Marshall Project and others have catalogued a rising count of shootings and use‑of‑force incidents involving immigration agents in recent months, though precise national totals for 2026 remain incomplete in the available reporting [4].
4. Legal standards and the limits of public evidence
Under constitutional and federal standards, law enforcement may use deadly force only when an officer reasonably believes the subject poses an immediate threat of death or serious injury, and state laws add nuances that investigators must apply case by case; legal analysts caution that video and officer statements must be evaluated from the perspective of a “reasonable officer on the scene,” not only through hindsight scrutiny [8] [7]. Reporters and lawyers say critical factual questions remain open in the Minneapolis shootings, including what preceded the encounters, whether de‑escalation was attempted, and whether agency policy was followed [7] [5].
5. Politics, transparency and competing narratives
The spike in high‑profile incidents intersects with a political push to expand enforcement and staffing at ICE, a dynamic critics say incentivizes aggressive operations and limits oversight, while the agency resists broader disclosure of use‑of‑force policies and internal records — a source of public anger and demands for independent review [9] [1]. Conservative outlets emphasize the dangers faced by agents and the need for law‑and‑order responses, while civil rights outlets and activists stress civilian harm, inconsistent accountability and the opacity of internal agency practices [10] [1] [11].
6. What reporting does not yet show
Available sources document at least two deaths tied to federal immigration agents in January 2026 and multiple other shootings and confrontations, but they also make clear that full, adjudicated facts for many incidents are not yet public and that formal investigations are ongoing; public reporting to date cannot definitively resolve contested claims about what officers perceived or whether every use of force complied with law and policy [1] [2] [7]. Journalistic databases and watchdog investigations continue to track incidents as prosecutors, state investigators and DHS review evidence.