ICE continues to polarize Americans

LINDSEY ZARKA
GRAPHIC DESIGNER

AIDAN SHAPIRO
STAFF WRITER

1/26/2026

Since the beginning of United States President Donald Trump’s second term, Trump and his administration have heavily cracked down on US immigration policies. Trump promised this crackdown during his 2024 campaign. 

“What the president is doing is very intentionally trying to send a message to his political supporters that he is making good on his promise to deport millions and millions of undocumented immigrants,” said Dr. Sandy Hulme, Professor and Chair of the Political Science department at Alma College. 

On Jan. 7 of this year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel were involved in an incident that left Renee Good shot dead in Minneapolis. Good was a Minnesota resident and a mother of three who had previously spoken out against ICE. This incident has since led many Americans to further their distaste for ICE operations throughout the country. 

For example, on Jan. 11, Mayor Katie B. Wilson of Seattle posted pictures of herself on X at an “ICE OUT” vigil for Good just days after her death. 

“He [Trump] is creating conditions under which very bad things are going to happen at some point. That some point is now. We have people being shot and killed. We have other people just being shot,” Hulme said. 

US Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, was recently interviewed by CBS. The interview covered many of the ICE operations occurring across the country. 

“Well, the facts are that this individual weaponized her car and threatened the life of the law enforcement officer and those around him…. And this individual was impeding law enforcement operations for quite some time before this incident happened,” Noem said. 

There has been a lot of talk about whether or not Good was “weaponizing” her car. According to the CBS interview, 54% of Americans believe that ICE should not have shot Good. 60% believe that the Trump administration has not handled the ICE agent’s actions properly. 

Despite the controversy, the FBI has shifted its investigation from the ICE agent that shot Good, Jonathon Ross, to Good herself. 

A church service was interrupted by anti-ICE protestors on Jan. 18. David Easterwood, a pastor at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota was the target of the protest. Easterwood is an alleged ICE official in Minnesota. 

According to a PBS article from Jan. 8, Minnesota officials are not allowed to see any of the evidence from the incident on Jan. 7. Noem claims that Minnesota officials have no jurisdiction over the Good case. 

“ICE is part of the executive branch of the government. So, he (Trump) is using immigrations and customs enforcement in a very different fashion that has ever been used before. And it doesn’t necessarily reflect the traditional objectives of ICE, which is literally to manage the border, not to go to cities across the country looking for folks to deport,” Hulme said 

Locally, there have been a number of anti-ICE protests across Michigan in recent weeks. On Jan. 12, Michigan residents in Ann Arbor performed an “ICE Out for Good” protest. Activists marched through the city carrying posters, whistles and even ice scrapers to portray their message.