It’s been one week since Renee Macklin Good was killed. What do we know? Your questions, answered
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On Jan. 7, ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed Minneapolis resident Renee Macklin Good. People have been protesting across the country, and more agents have been deployed to Minnesota.
We asked MPR News readers what questions they still have about the fatal shooting and the surge of immigration enforcement in Minnesota. Here’s what they wanted to know.
What will happen to the shooter? Has he been detained?
Jonathan Ross, the ICE agent who shot and killed Good, is not in police custody. Last week, the FBI announced they were taking over the investigation from the state. In response, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty asked the public to send her office videos, photos and other information related to the shooting.
Moriarty contradicted Vice President JD Vance’s assertion that Ross has total immunity, but without access to the evidence the FBI has, it would be unlikely that the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office or Minnesota Attorney General’s Office would be in a position to consider charges.
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An online fundraising campaign has been created for Ross that has raised over $600,000. An update posted on Tuesday said the organizer made contact with Ross and is arranging the funds to be transferred to him soon.
The organizer, Clyde Emmons from Michigan, wrote that he decided to make a fundraiser after seeing one benefiting Good’s family.
What are the rights of local police departments to arrest ICE?
Local police can’t arrest ICE officers for carrying out federal immigration enforcement due to the Supremacy Clause and federal law. The clause criminalizes impeding federal law enforcement officers from performing their duties.
They can refuse to cooperate, document potential misconduct and investigate unlawful actions after the fact. Local officers can also question ICE agents about warrants, probable cause and inform the public of their rights. They can’t intervene or block an ICE enforcement action.
However, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said during a news conference in December that officers have a duty to intervene should they witness federal agents using excessive force.
What did deportation look like under previous administrations? Is this large of a scale of actions unprecedented?
Deportations, ICE and the Department of Homeland Security look different under the second Trump administration compared to previous administrations. In July, the U.S. Congress approved $170 billion for immigration and border enforcement, $75 billion went directly to ICE, making it the most money the U.S. government has ever invested in detention and deportation.
From 2009 to 2014, a total of 2.4 million people were deported under the Obama administration, including a record 435,000 in 2013, according to the Pew Research Center. In a press release from the Department of Homeland Security on Dec. 10, they announced that more than 2.5 million people had been deported just since Jan. 20, 2025. This figure does not include the numbers from “Operation Metro Surge.”
During Trump’s first term, ICE arrests did increase but remained lower than during much of Obama’s eight years in office.
A big change between administrations is the halt to the U.S. Refugee Admissions program. Fewer than 100 refugees arrived in Minnesota in 2025. Since the program’s creation in 1980, only the Trump administration have set refugee admission caps below 60,000 nationwide. Most of the slots are currently reserved for Afrikaners, people from Souths Africa with Dutch, German and French roots.
What have Minnesota Republicans said?
U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer, who is also the House majority whip, called the Minnesota Star Tribune “evil” when they identified Ross as the agent who killed Good and said the newspaper was “trying to get ICE agents killed.” On Jan. 6, one day before Good was killed, he shared a post by DHS on X of the arrival in Minneapolis: “God bless our brave ICE agents. Go out there and get ‘em.”
Rep. Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, the speaker of the Minnesota House, posted on X after Good was killed: “My heart goes out to the loved ones grieving right now. As the investigation continues, I urge everyone to reject inflammatory rhetoric and escalation.”
Rep. Walter Hudson, R-Albertville, shared Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem’s statement the day of Good’s killing writing “All information available at the moment indicates that this was a justified shooting, a predicable result you should expect when assaulting law enforcement. This death lies at the feet of Walz, Frey and every Democrat official who has explicitly incited such assaults.”
What authority do ICE agents have to ask someone not suspected of being an undocumented immigrant to exit their vehicle?
ICE agents can ask someone to exit their vehicle if they have “reasonable suspicion,” based on specific facts that someone in the car is unlawfully present or involved in a federal immigration violation.
The reasonable suspicion cannot be based solely on the perceived race or ethnicity of an individual.
If the stop is deemed lawful based on whether there is reasonable suspicion, agents have the authority to briefly detain individuals for questioning. This can include ordering them out of the vehicle.
ICE may order all occupants to remain inside or step out of the vehicle for officer safety reasons. ICE does not enforce traffic laws, so their stops must be for immigration enforcement. They cannot say the stop is for a traffic violation.
Agents don't need a warrant for these stops, but occupants have the right to ask if they're free to leave and to refuse searches.
Reasonable suspicion to stop a car does not automatically mean there is authority to search the car. Generally, a search warrant or the driver’s consent is required to search inside the vehicle.
Can you be detained for not showing your ID?
You don’t necessarily have to show ICE officers your immigration documents or your citizenship documents. It’s not required by law. However, you can be detained by ICE for not showing identification if they have reasonable suspicion you're in the U.S. illegally.
As for if you should carry original documents or copies, one legal expert that spoke with MPR News said that she takes a photo of her passport and has it on its phone since U.S. citizens are not required to have their original passport on them.
By law, immigrants are required to have their original DACA authorization, TPS authorization. They are also required to have a Legal Permanent Resident card.
What towns have ICE been spotted in?
While the focus of what DHS calls “Operation Metro Surge” by ICE has been in the Twin Cities, agents have been spotted across Minnesota. As MPR and other local news outlets have reported, ICE has been seen in several cities such as Rochester, Detroit Lakes, Perham, Park Rapids, Faribault and St. Cloud. This is not an exhaustive list.
What happens to citizens who are detained?
There have been multiple reports of detainees sharing stories of their time once released, but these are often from U.S. citizens. Patty O’Keefe and Brandon Sigüenza of Minneapolis were detained for eight hours and later released. Sigüenza told MPR News that agents from the Department of Homeland Security asked him to provide the names of people he knows that are undocumented or the names of protest organizers in exchange for money or legal protection.
O’Keefe described holding cells with 40-50 people in them and smaller cells with dozens of people. She said there was constant waling and people crying and yelling, “Let me out.”
Correction (Jan. 14, 2026): An earlier version of this story incorrectly spelled Jonathan Ross' name. The story has been updated.
