Were there ice agent shooting under biden

Checked on February 1, 2026
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Executive summary

Yes — federal immigration officers, including ICE and Border Patrol personnel, were involved in shootings during the Biden administration, according to multiple press investigations and tracking projects; reporters and watchdogs warn the record is incomplete, and federal agencies have not provided clear comprehensive counts or timelines [1] [2]. Coverage intensifies under the later Trump surge in 2025–26, but contemporary reporting and trackers show that agent-involved shootings and use-of-force controversies were already matters of public record during Biden’s tenure [1] [3].

1. What the public record actually shows: agent-involved shootings predate the Trump surge

Long-form trackers and press investigations compiled through 2024–2025 document numerous incidents in which immigration agents fired their weapons, sometimes fatally; The Trace’s December 2025 tally and related reporting conclude that Customs and Border Protection and ICE officers were involved in multiple shootings and that news-based counts are likely underestimates because agencies do not centrally publish a full catalogue [1] [2]. The BBC and other outlets note that Border Patrol and ICE engagements that turned deadly were reported during the period when Joe Biden was president, even as the agencies’ focus and deployment patterns shifted over time [3].

2. Why it’s hard to get a definitive number: agency opacity and fragmented records

Federal agencies declined or failed to provide simple answers about totals; PBS, The Trace and others emphasize that DHS and ICE did not supply a consolidated count comparing administrations, and internal oversight offices have been reshuffled or under-resourced, making year‑over‑year comparisons difficult [2] [1]. Independent compilers therefore rely on news reports, local records and oversight disclosures, producing credible but incomplete pictures of shootings during the Biden years [2] [1].

3. The two competing narratives in reporting: accountability vs. self-defense

Reporting shows a persistent divide: civil‑rights advocates and local officials have alleged excessive force and called for accountability for shootings involving immigration officers, while DHS and agency spokespeople have repeatedly defended officers’ actions as self‑defense or lawful use of force in dangerous operations [2] [4]. That tension under Biden shaped debates about training, body cameras and use‑of‑force guidance—issues highlighted in press accounts showing reform efforts that were slow or uneven even before the later surge in federal interior operations [5] [6].

4. What changed (and what didn’t) when administrations shifted

Multiple sources document a shift in policy emphasis after the 2024 election that intensified interior operations and produced high‑profile fatal encounters in Minneapolis and elsewhere; press reporting contrasts those post‑2024 surges with earlier Biden‑era priorities focused on serious criminals, and notes that some reforms such as broader body‑camera rollouts were slow under Biden and curtailed under the subsequent administration [7] [5]. Still, the existence of shootings during Biden’s term—and debates about oversight and restraint—were established facts before the 2025–26 escalation [3] [1].

5. Limits of the available reporting and why caution matters

The sources provided do not produce a definitive numeric tally of shootings restricted to the Biden presidency; they show pattern and anecdote, not a fully audited dataset, and acknowledge gaps where federal agencies declined to release consolidated records [2] [1]. Where accounts diverge—about specific encounters, motivations or whether particular uses of force were justified—local investigations, body‑cam footage and federal reviews are often the deciding evidence, and those sometimes remain incomplete or contested [8] [2].

6. Bottom line: the factual answer, and the political stakes

Factually: yes—ICE and Border Patrol officers were involved in shootings during the Biden administration, as documented by press investigations and incident trackers; however, the scope and context remain disputed because of agency opacity, contested official narratives, and the political overlay that intensified after 2024 [1] [2] [3]. Those disputes fuel both calls for reform and agency defenses, and they are central to ongoing debates about oversight, training, body cameras and the rules governing force in immigration enforcement [5] [6].

Want to dive deeper?
How many shootings involving ICE and CBP agents were reported each year from 2017–2025?
What reforms to ICE use-of-force policy and body-camera programs were proposed or implemented under the Biden administration?
How do independent trackers (The Trace, PBS, local investigations) compile and verify incidents involving federal immigration agents?