On January 7, 2026, federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers conducting a major enforcement operation in Minneapolis shot and killed 37-year-old Renée Nicole Good during an encounter at the scene. The tragic death has left a grieving family and a country divided about law enforcement, public safety, and the rule of law.
The ICE agent involved has been identified by news reports as Jonathan Ross, a long-serving law-enforcement veteran with prior military service and a documented prior incident in which he was seriously injured while attempting an arrest. His record and the chaotic nature of the encounter have become central to debates over whether the officer’s split-second decisions were justified.
This shooting came amid what the Biden administration’s successor called the largest DHS immigration enforcement operation ever, with roughly 2,000 federal personnel sent to the Twin Cities to address alleged fraud and criminal activity. The scale of the deployment meant a heavy federal footprint in neighborhoods, creating friction and heightened tensions where mistakes can be fatal.
Federal officials have defended the officer’s actions as self-defense while local leaders and many residents are demanding transparency and accountability, accusing the feds of hiding information and rushing to justify the shooting. The FBI’s takeover of parts of the probe and the political theater surrounding the incident have only deepened mistrust on all sides.
Carl Higbie called the Minnesota situation “super avoidable on multiple levels,” and he was right to force the question: why execute such a massive, high-profile operation in tight urban neighborhoods without ironclad coordination with local authorities and clear, de-escalatory rules of engagement? Conservatives who believe in law and order should not reflexively cheer every federal action, but neither should we allow politicians and activists to tie the hands of officers responding to real threats. The operation’s design and the messaging around it deserve scrutiny from those who want both safety and justice.
Let’s be blunt: years of political sanctuary policies and open-borders rhetoric have weakened local will to support federal enforcement, emboldening bad actors and putting honest officers at risk. Department officials have warned of dramatic rises in assaults and threats against immigration officers, a fact that matters when evaluating the split-second fear an agent might feel when faced with a vehicle as a weapon. The left’s constant demonization of immigration enforcement has predictable, dangerous consequences for public safety.
Hardworking Americans deserve a full, transparent investigation that protects the rights of the deceased and ensures officers are treated fairly if they acted within the law. We must also demand better planning, better interagency coordination, and clearer protocols to prevent tragedies like this from repeating. Above all, conservatives must stand for common-sense accountability: support our law-enforcement heroes, protect innocent civilians, and stop the political games that make both outcomes less likely.
