MINNEAPOLIS--Vice President JD Vance delivered a broad defense of the thousands of federal agents leading an aggressive immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis, arguing that "far-left agitators" and uncooperative local officials are to blame for chaos on the streets.
Vance's visit to the city marked a renewed effort by President Donald Trump's administration to win public support for its immigration crackdown, amid signs that even some of the president's supporters are growing wary of the aggressive tactics on display in Minneapolis, where scores of heavily armed masked agents have flooded the streets.
Flanked by federal officers and two Immigration and Customs Enforcement patrol cars bearing the slogan "Defend the Homeland," Vance repeated his assertion that Renee Good "rammed" her car into an ICE officer before he fatally shot the 37-year-old mother of three on January 7, sparking weeks of unrest.
"I think that Renee Good's death is a tragedy," he said. "I also think that she rammed an ICE officer with her car."
Analyses of bystander video by Reuters and other outlets show Good's wheels were turned away from the officer, Jonathan Ross, and that his legs were clear of the vehicle at the time he fired. It is unclear whether the car made contact with Ross, but he did not fall during the incident and can be seen walking afterward.
Democratic leaders in Minnesota have rejected Vance's account, and state authorities have launched an investigation into the shooting.
In an incident that provoked new outrage, school officials in the suburb of Columbia Heights said on Wednesday that immigration officers had detained a 5-year-old boy on Tuesday. Vance accused the media of misrepresenting that incident, saying the boy was left behind when his father fled agents.
"What are they supposed to do?" he said. "Are they supposed to let a 5-year-old child freeze to death?"
The child watched masked agents take his father from the driveway of their home before they pointed the boy to the back door of the house and motioned for him to knock, according to Rachel James, a Columbia Heights city council member who said she witnessed the incident. The boy was eventually taken from the scene.
A Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman said parents targeted by ICE operations are asked if they want their children taken with them or placed with a person they designate.DHS said the boy's father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, was in the country illegally but did not provide details or mention any criminal history. A school official said the family has an active asylum case with no deportation order.
