SCOOP: ICE Agents Use Secret Rules to Justify Lethal Force
ICE’s "Firearms and Use of Force" policy is almost entirely redacted, leaving the public in the dark about when agents can legally pull the trigger.
WASHINGTON — As the nation reels from the fatal shooting of unarmed U.S. citizen Renee Nicole Good, a burgeoning transparency crisis has hit the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Newly surfaced documents reveal that while DHS and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) maintain public guidelines for the use of force, the specific directive governing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) remains almost entirely hidden from the public eye behind heavy redactions (HT Crust News and ICE List for the documents):
The revelation comes as Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ranking Member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), launched a scathing inquiry into the “indefensible use of force” by federal agents, accusing DHS Secretary Kristi Noem of spreading “deception and propaganda” regarding the Minneapolis tragedy.
A “Directive of Darkness”
While the overarching DHS Use of Force Policy and the 63-page CBP Use of Force Handbook are publicly accessible, ICE Directive 19009.3, titled “Firearms and Use of Force,” is a wall of black ink.
The 13-page document, updated as recently as May 26, 2023, uses the (b)(7)(E) law enforcement exemption to redact nearly every substantive page of the policy. This “blackout” leaves the American public in the dark regarding the specific rules of engagement for the very agency involved in Wednesday’s fatal shooting.
The Minneapolis Incident: Video vs. Narrative
The current firestorm centers on the January 7 killing of Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old poet and mother of three. Secretary Noem and President Trump have characterized Good’s actions as “domestic terrorism,” claiming she “weaponized her vehicle” to run over an agent.
However, Senator Blumenthal’s office notes that video evidence “refutes [these] statements,” showing an agent firing into the car as it moved past him, rather than toward him. The agent has been identified in local reports as Jonathan Ross, a 10-year veteran of ICE’s Special Response Team. Here is the cell phone camera footage Ross captured as he shot Good in the face:
“Speed Over Safety”: The 12,000-Agent Surge
In his letter to Secretary Noem, Blumenthal raised alarms over the 12,000 officers and agents hired in less than a year. He questioned whether “speed is being prioritized over safety and substance” in training, noting that the agent who shot Ms. Good allegedly “followed his training,” which may indicate a systemic flaw in DHS instruction.
“Americans should have a hard time recognizing our great nation in these stomach-turning, heartbreaking stories of brutal assaults on our fellow citizens,” Blumenthal stated, referring to a PSI report titled Unchecked Authority which documents 22 instances of federal agents assaulting and pepper-spraying U.S. citizens.
This is a developing story. If you have any information about the training, protocals, and standards (or lack thereof) that immigration agents receive and operate under, I’d love to hear from you. Hit me up at tips@migrantinsider.com
The question isn’t the amount of training it’s why the jack booted government is allowed to arm 21st century Brownshirt when no human is illegal.
This poor sweet mother leaves her home and is never seen alive again. He murdered her.