Enough Is Enough

26/01/26 10:29
IMG_1136 January 26, 2026 - Vol. 20, No. 5 - This one is different. The video leaves no room for any interpretation but one – that federal Border Patrol agents shot and killed an innocent man on a Minneapolis street Saturday morning after taking away his legally possessed and non-brandish weapon. It has evoked outrage and protests. The anger is real - and justified.



This was not a "justifiable homicide." It was cold-blooded murder. It is also a product of the Trump administration's campaign of terror against Democrat-controlled cities and states. Under the guise of immigration enforcement, masked and poorly trained thugs with police credentials have used excessive force against anyone who opposes their tactics.



The federal government launched "Operation Metro Surge" late last year, sending thousands of Department of Homeland Security agents — including ICE and Border Patrol — into Minneapolis and Saint Paul. As a matter of principle, I have no problem with federal agents enforcing the law. However, the deployment of 3,000 agents – five times the size of the local police force - is militarized and disruptive, and have been accompanied by widespread constitutional violations.



A lawsuit filed by city and state officials accused ICE and DHS of using excessive force against peaceful people, targeting bystanders and unarmed citizens, conducting enforcement at sensitive locations like schools and churches and violating the Tenth Amendment by displacing local law enforcement and public safety priorities. These allegations argued not only violations of constitutional rights but also breaches of administrative law — asserting that ICE's behavior is arbitrary, capricious, and therefore unlawful. For example, ICE officers have been told they can enter private homes without warrants.



ICE's own policies — including use-of-force standards — are intended to align with broader federal law enforcement norms and constitutional safeguards. For example, ICE policy outlines strict criteria for when force may be used and emphasizes respect for civil rights. Critics argue, however, that in practice the agency consistently fails to live up to these standards. And there is ample video evidence to support those charges.




An ICE agent fatally shot 37-year-old U.S. citizen Renee Good in south Minneapolis earlier this month. Federal authorities claimed self-defense, but local officials and human rights groups have sharply criticized the use of lethal force in the context of immigration enforcement. Human Rights Watch described the circumstances of the Good shooting as part of a broader pattern of questionable use of force by federal agents within immigration enforcement contexts, pointing to international standards which allow lethal force only when absolutely necessary to protect life. Just this past weekend, another fatal shooting occurred — that of Alex Pretti — during a confrontation involving federal immigration agents, sparking protests across the Twin Cities and nationwide.



In both instances, the fatal encounters were well documented through bystander video cameras. The footage in both instances create doubts about initial federal claims about the circumstances of the shootings. Frankly, the attitude of Homeland Secretary "Dress-Up Barbie" Kristi Noem, Border Patrol Director "Pocket Hitler" Greg Bovino, Attorney General Pam "Blondie" Bondi and White House Press Secretary "Beauty-School Dropout" Karoline Levitt toward this visual evidence has been "who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes?"



Protests against ICE's presence in Minneapolis have grown tremendously, evidenced by the above picture taken Sunday in the city center. Civil liberties advocates — such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) — have sued on behalf of Minnesota residents, alleging that ICE agents used pepper spray, pointed rifles at peaceful observers, and in some cases detained or followed people without cause. Federal judges have ruled that ICE agents cannot arrest, detain, retaliate against, or use chemical irritants on peaceful protesters or observers when no reasonable suspicion of interference exists. This reflected judicial concern that ICE's tactics chilled First Amendment rights. Unfortunately, appeals courts have temporarily lifted these restrictions while the government's appeal proceeds, allowing more aggressive tactics to continue. 



These legal actions highlight tensions between law enforcement objectives and constitutional protections like free speech and assembly — especially when enforcement operations occur in residential neighborhoods. Under the Trump regime, oversight mechanisms within the Department of Homeland Security have been weakened — including staffing cuts at the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties that would normally investigate misconduct. Reduced oversight allow exacerbate policy violations going unchecked.



Public opinion polls show that a majority of Americans disapprove of ICE and believe it mistreats immigrants and citizens alike. In a recent CBS News poll, 52 percent of respondents said ICE is making communities less safe. Fifty-four percent said they disapprove of the administration's deportation efforts. The poll, taken before the most recent shooting, also showed that 54 percent felt the shooting of Good was unjustified and 53 percent felt that ICE's operations in Minnesota should be decreased. There's little doubt that there will be increased negativity toward the Trump administration's immigration efforts following the Pretti shooting. Moreover, United Nations human rights officials have criticized what they describe as "routine abuse" of migrants in U.S. custody, urging respect for human dignity. 
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It is noteworthy that these kind of overt, aggressive and constitutionally-questionable enforcement activities have focused on Democrat-run cities and states. To provide some perspective, there are only an estimated 130,000 undocumented immigrants in Minnesota. However, in Texas and Florida, where ICE has not aggressively surged its ill-trained and ill-tempered focus, there are more than a million undocumented immigrants in each state. Additional proof that this is a politically motivated effort came from Attorney General Bondi, herself, when she wrote Minnesota officials over the weekend that she would pull back the administration's enforcement efforts if that state would provide it voter registration information to which it is not entitled.



For me, an additional concern is the conditions of confinement under which detainees are being warehoused throughout the nation. Hundreds – and in some cases – thousands are imprisoned in spaces that, more often than not, were not designed for either that purpose or volume. For example, ICE is looking at converting an industrial building in the Kansas City area that would house up to 7,500 people. There is no prison in the United States that houses that many inmates.



 
In the late 1980s, I was the spokesman for the North Carolina Department of Correction, an agency under constant legal pressure over the housing and treatment of inmates. I became an expert in understanding what federal courts considered to constitutionally defensible conditions of confinement. I have not seen evidence that ICE, the Border Patrol or Homeland Security have met those standards. People are sleeping on floors in crowded rooms. That would not be permitted in any correctional facility. Keep in mind that unlike prison inmates, the overwhelming majority of those detained are not guilty of anything more than illegally crossing the border in search of a better life. Most have been model residents within their communities. It is immoral and illegal to treat these people as if they are livestock.



I find it obscene that people who complain about excessive government regulation are the first to support ruining people's lives for no other reason than they came across the border without proper authorization. In a nation of immigrants, this attitude is both heartless and counter-productive. These people are not taking jobs or public benefits from anyone. They often do the jobs that no one else is willing to do. 



Ronald Reagan was not a flaming liberal. One might disagree with some of his policies. However, by all accounts, he was a literate and decent man. It is notable that in his last White House remarks as president, Reagan spoke passionately about the importance of embracing those who seek refuge in the land of the free and the home of the brave.



The madness that Donald Trump and his Cabinet of Clowns have brought Minneapolis and other cities must stop. And those who violate the rules and murder our fellow citizens should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Noem should be impeached and Bovino fired. Common decency demands it. That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.