Michigan Dems outraged at ICE while GOP issues support after agents kill Minneapolis woman

As the Trump administration and its allies in the national Republican Party double down on their belief that an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent acted in self-defense Wednesday when he fatally shot an American woman in Minneapolis, who was observing their activity in the city, Michigan Democrats and Republicans sounded off on the tragedy that has the potential to boil over in the coming days.

Both President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called the shooting an act of self-defense. But multiple eyewitnesses and videos taken from several different angles at the scene of the shooting showed conflicting views of the event. That has led to outrage from Democrats and anti-ICE advocates over the agency’s unchecked ability to raid, detain and use deadly force against immigrants, and now American citizens.

One of the key videos being shared was obtained by the Michigan Advance’s sister publication, the Minnesota Reformer.

In Michigan, that same dynamic played out as Democratic and Republican lawmakers and candidates took sides quickly.

Sen. Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Township) called the event horrific, and said the Department of Homeland Security’s public statements on the fatal shooting were “not only reckless – they appear to be outright falsehoods. If this Administration can label anyone a domestic terrorist to deflect responsibility, then every American is at risk.”

“Video evidence indicates that this was an unacceptable use of deadly force, and I call on my Republican colleagues to immediately convene public oversight hearings on this and numerous other reports of excessive force, intimidation, and other egregious conduct by federal officers,” Peters wrote on social media. 

Peters also called on Noem and her department to change course, truthfully inform the public, and engage in the appropriate oversight.

“Without this accountability, I am concerned tensions will only continue to escalate,” Peters wrote.

Michigan’s Democratic congressional representatives from Detroit, U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib and U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar, both decried the killing.

“ICE shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis today while she was trying to drive away from them,” Tlaib said. “Her killer must be held accountable and brought to justice. We need this rogue agency out of our neighborhoods.”

Dems demand investigation of fatal Minneapolis ICE shooting as Trump claims self-defense

Tlaib called to abolish ICE outright. Thanedar called for a full investigation and serious legal restraints on ICE, continuing his legislative push to end qualified immunity for the agency and its agents.

“It’s clear ICE is a group of untrained thugs, and they should not be above the law,” Thanedar said. “I will continue fighting to end qualified immunity to ensure ICE agents are held to the same legal standards as every other American.”

U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham), a candidate for the U.S. Senate, said the shooting death of the woman “unacceptable.”

“There needs to be a thorough and independent investigation into what happened, but what is clear is that the masked, armed, and untrained agents that Trump is lawlessly deploying to our cities are causing more harm, not protecting people,” Stevens said. “We cannot and should not allow the Trump administration to turn our communities into war zones.”

State Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak), also a candidate for the U.S. Senate, said: “There’s no sugarcoating this; the president’s security theater just cost someone their life.”

Abdul El-Sayed, the third candidate in the Democratic U.S. Senate primary race, said the outcome of the shooting was sadly the logical one when the federal government puts “untrained personnel who have been told that they are above the law on peaceful streets.”

“We pray for the victim and her family and we demand an end to lawlessness in the name of the law,” El-Sayed said.

State. Sen. Jeremy Moss (D-Bloomfield Township), a candidate for Michigan’s 11th Congressional District, said the nation “cannot empower masked vigilantes to wreak havoc on civil neighborhoods under the guise of law enforcement.”

“This does not make us safer and today it tragically cost a life in Minnesota,” Moss said. “In Michigan, I’m working to unmask ICE, restore due process, and protect the rights of our immigrant and refugee communities.”

Michigan GOP stands with ICE, Trump and Noem

 U.S. Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Bruce Township), in a series of posts on X, blamed Democrats for ICE’s actions.

“This is what happens when Democrats continue to DEMONIZE LAW ENFORCEMENT,” McClain wrote in one post. “Praying for all our brave ICE agents who are working to keep us safe.”

In another resharing of a statement from Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who said ICE needed to “get the f*ck out” of his city, McClain called his rhetoric dangerous while also laying no blame for the killing on ICE.

“Why is the socialist mayor of Minneapolis putting a TARGET on the backs of law enforcement?” McClain also wrote, and said the same about Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz asking for any and all protests to remain peaceful as to not agitate an extreme federal response.

State Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt (R-Porter Township), a GOP candidate for governor, in a series X posts, also said he proudly stood with ICE and that the agency was not the problem.

“Trying to run over law enforcement, throwing rocks at them, and trying to impede them from doing their job isn’t “protesting”. It’s domestic terrorism,” Nesbitt wrote in one post. “Praying for the safety of all our ICE agents federal law enforcement.”

Former Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, another contender in the GOP gubernatorial hunt, said, “supporting illegals, fraudsters and liberal extremism over federal law enforcement officers is something you will NEVER see in Michigan when I’m Governor.”

Cox noted that his wife, former Michigan Republican Party Co-Chair Laura Cox, was an undercover ICE agent for 13 years, where she had carried out “drug raids, and arresting dangerous illegals to protect our Nation. That’s what ICE does EVERY DAY.”

In another post on X resharing Frey’s statements, Cox said: “This guy is aiding and abetting violence and mayhem.”