Minneapolis: An American male nurse was shot and killed by U.S. immigration officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota yesterday, bringing the death toll to at least 30 since Donald Trump announced his anti-immigration policy after taking office for his second term on January 20, 2025.
According to Thai News Agency, data from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) indicates that as of early January of this year, a total of 69,000 migrants had been detained. Of these, 43 percent had no criminal record. The death toll of at least 30 people resulting from ICE operations is the highest in two decades, with six deaths reported in January alone.
The first case involved a Cuban male migrant who died on January 3rd in an open-air migrant detention camp located on a Texas military base. Initially, ICE reported that he had health problems, but media reports, citing an autopsy report, suggested he was murdered. The Department of Homeland Security later stated that he attempted suicide and resisted arrest, leading to his death. The autopsy report, released last week, indicated that he died from asphyxiation due to his neck and torso being compressed.
Then, on January 7, a highly publicized incident sparked nationwide protests when Renee Good, a 37-year-old American mother of three, was shot and killed by ICE officers while attempting to evade a group of officers in her car. This marked the first fatality in Minneapolis, Minnesota, this year. The following day, ICE officers shot and killed a Venezuelan male immigrant driver in Oregon, claiming he attempted to ram his car into them. The shooting also injured a Venezuelan female passenger who confessed to illegally entering the United States in 2023.
On January 14, two migrants detained in military camps collapsed and became unresponsive. The first was a Nicaraguan man detained in Montana, and the second a Mexican man detained in Georgia. The cause of death has not yet been revealed. Then, the following day, ICE officers shot a Venezuelan migrant in Minneapolis, in the leg, claiming he and two other men assaulted them. However, a court indictment released a few days ago alleges that ICE officers were mistakenly targeting the migrant.
ICE reported that there are two more fatalities in Philadelphia and California. The latest victim is Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse, the second Minneapolis killer this month. The Department of Homeland Security claimed he was armed with a handgun and resisted arrest. Media outlets analyzed witness footage suggesting officers may have disarmed him, but another officer accidentally fired, killing him.