How many protesters did ICE murder during both of Trump's presidencies
Executive summary
Reporting compiled here does not support a single, definitive tally of how many protesters ICE "murdered" across both of Donald Trump’s presidencies; the sources document at least two named civilians killed by federal immigration officers during the recent surge of enforcement in Minnesota (Renée Good and Alex Pretti) and present wider, conflicting tallies of agent-involved shootings and detention deaths that are not limited to protesters [1] [2] [3]. Major outlets and think tanks record varying figures—ranging from a small number of on-scene shootings to dozens of deaths in ICE custody—so any precise answer depends on how “protester,” “ICE,” and “murder” are defined and which datasets are used [4] [5] [6].
1. Two named deaths in the Minneapolis confrontations—what the reporting agrees on
Multiple credible outlets report that two U.S. citizens—Renée (Renée) Nicole Good and Alex Pretti—were fatally shot by federal immigration or border agents during the Minneapolis enforcement surge in January, and those killings sparked nationwide protests and investigations [1] [2] [3] [7]. Sources identify Good as shot by an ICE agent on Jan. 7 and Pretti as shot by Customs and Border Protection officers while recording an operation; both deaths are repeatedly singled out in coverage as central triggers for the mass demonstrations [3] [8] [7].
2. Broader counts of killings by immigration agents: inconsistent tallies
Beyond those two high-profile Minneapolis deaths, outlets compiling incidents since Trump’s return to office offer different totals: The Guardian’s review counted four people killed by immigration agents and documented multiple shootings and injuries tied to enforcement operations [4], while a Wikipedia compilation of shootings by immigration agents claims at least 8 deaths in the second Trump administration [5]. These discrepancies reflect differing methods—some count federal agents broadly (ICE and CBP), some count only on-duty shootings, and some rely on partial media or gun-violence databases [4] [5].
3. ICE custody deaths are a separate — and larger — denominator
Independent and policy-focused sources document a much larger number of deaths in ICE custody in 2025—about 31–32 fatalities—which is a separate metric from officers shooting civilians at protests; those custody deaths reflect medical neglect, detention conditions and other causes and are not all tied to street protests [6] [9]. Brookings, Axios and The Guardian all flagged 31–32 custody deaths in 2025 as a two-decade high, but those figures do not translate into a count of protesters killed by agents in the field [6] [9] [4].
4. Why there’s no simple “murdered protesters” number
The available reporting makes clear that definitions and datasets matter: “protester” status often depends on witness testimony and video; which agency is responsible (ICE versus CBP or other DHS components) varies by incident; and legal classifications—whether a death is ruled justifiable use of force, criminal homicide, or under investigation—change over time [4] [10]. Several outlets note ongoing probes and contested official narratives, meaning counts can shift as investigations proceed [10] [3].
5. Competing narratives, political stakes and hidden agendas
Administration spokespeople have defended officers’ actions and sometimes labeled victims or demonstrators as “agitators” or “domestic terrorists,” framing enforcement as public-safety work; critics, civil‑rights groups and some local officials portray the same events as excessive force and policy-driven violence—an interpretive gap that shapes which deaths are emphasized and how they are reported [1] [11] [12]. Media compilations and advocacy pieces may emphasize custody mortality or street shootings differently depending on institutional aims: databases focused on gun violence tally shootings, think tanks document custody deaths, and local reporting centers on named protest incidents [4] [6].
6. Bottom line answer
From the sources provided, the only unequivocally documented protesters killed in the recent enforcement surge are Renée Nicole Good and Alex Pretti—two named U.S. citizens shot during operations in Minnesota—while broader counts of agent-involved killings during Trump’s second term range from about four to eight deaths depending on the compilation, and 31–32 people died in ICE custody in 2025 [1] [2] [4] [5] [6]. The sources do not provide a verifiable, consolidated total across both of Trump’s presidencies that isolates and confirms only “protesters” killed by ICE as homicides; therefore any more definitive number would require further independent investigation and clarification of definitions and agency responsibility.