By Jack Phillips
Contributing Writer
The Trump administration’s border czar said on Wednesday that he has not seen any examples of excessive force in videos showing a woman being shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent during a traffic stop in Minneapolis.
During a Wednesday interview with “CBS Evening News” anchor Tony Dokoupil, border czar Tom Homan watched a video clip of the incident involving the shooting, but said he won’t comment on an investigation into the incident.
“I’m not going to make a judgment call on one video when there’s a hundred videos out there,” he said.
“It’d be unprofessional to comment on what I think happened in that situation. Let the investigation play out and hold people accountable based on the investigation.”
“I have not seen ICE act out outside of policy. If they are acting outside of policy, I’m not aware of it. There’ll be an investigation. They’ll be held accountable,” Homan also said in the interview.
Homan added that people who are making “comments about murder [are] going to incite … more violence, more threats, and hopefully not more bloodshed” against ICE agents.
The Department of Homeland Security said that the woman was trying to run over an agent in Minneapolis, prompting the official to open fire on the driver.
Dozens of protesters gathered early on Thursday outside of a federal building on the edge of the city that is serving as a major base of operations for the crackdown on illegal immigration. They said that ICE agents and other officials should leave the city, while Border Patrol officers pushed them back from the gate and fired smoke grenades.
DHS has deployed more than 2,000 officers to the area in what it says is its largest immigration enforcement operation ever, while Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said more than 1,500 people have already been arrested.
Noem called the events leading up to the shooting incident on Wednesday an “act of domestic terrorism” against ICE officers, saying the driver “attempted to run them over and rammed them with her vehicle.”
“An officer of ours acted quickly and defensively, shot, to protect himself and the people around him.”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat, disputed Noem’s version of events.
“They are already trying to spin this as an action of self-defense,” Frey said.
He also criticized the Trump administration’s ICE deployment and said those agents should leave Minneapolis. A large operation involving multiple agencies was launched in the city, partly tied to allegations of widespread fraud targeting federal services and programs.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz told reporters he would send in the National Guard if the protests get out of hand, urging people to keep the demonstrations peaceful. He also criticized the ICE agent over the shooting.
After the Trump administration launched its mass deportation operation, officials have said there has been a significant increase in attacks targeting ICE agents.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
