The fallout from the fatal ICE shooting of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis has ripped open a political and morale disaster for the Department of Homeland Security. Agents on the ground are reporting widespread fear for their own safety — a stark contrast to the swagger the agency once carried under the Trump administration.
Good, a U.S. citizen and mom of three, was killed by ICE Agent Jonathan Ross during a federal immigration operation in south Minneapolis on Jan. 7, sparking protests and outrage across the country.
According to multiple current and former ICE personnel interviewed for The Daily Beast, public hostility toward federal immigration agents has surged so dramatically that many are now afraid to show their faces in public. Some officers describe drivers making “gun signs” at them as they patrol neighborhoods — a chilling symbol of how deeply revulsion has cut into morale.
“People used to respect what we did,” one former agent told the Beast. “Now folks look at you like you’re a threat. It’s miserable.”
The agency’s approval ratings have cratered, according to internal polling referenced in the report, with public support shifting from mildly positive to net negative — a dramatic reversal that reflects growing distrust of ICE’s tactics and responses.
The fear isn’t just about public anger. Former and current agents told The Daily Beast that distrust of ICE could have real legal consequences: some worry that jurors may no longer believe their testimony in court, undermining criminal cases that hinge on ICE investigations.
The broader political environment hasn’t helped. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defended the agent’s actions, characterizing the incident as a response to violent obstruction — a narrative that many local leaders and eyewitnesses dispute. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey blasted federal claims as “propaganda” aimed at justifying a violent use of force against a woman who, video evidence suggests, was not menacing officers.
That divide has prompted public officials from all sides to weigh in. Some Republican senators have questioned DHS’s handling of the situation, even as House Democratic leaders rail against Noem’s framing of Good’s death as “domestic terrorism.”
In Minneapolis, the incident has led to lawsuits, protests, and calls from officials to rein in federal forces. Agents who signed up expecting enforcement with community cooperation now find themselves at the center of nationwide fury — facing chants, signs, and actions that make many feel unsafe during their aggressive crackdown.
Whether the fear will translate into resignations, recruitment troubles, or deeper institutional fractures is already becoming a topic of concern inside DHS. One former agent told The Daily Beast that the agency’s current trajectory feels less like a law-enforcement mission and more like a crisis of legitimacy.
