Leaked documents have revealed terror among ICE agents working in Minneapolis after the fatal shooting of U.S. citizen Renee Good last week — and some are laying blame with their boss.
Journalist Ken Klippenstein published internal Department of Homeland Security documents on his Substack Monday that urge agents to "be mindful of [operational security] and officer safety" when entering and leaving hotels that they're staying at. The documents also instruct DHS employees to "be mindful of what you post to social media" and to "turn off your location settings and set page to private."
Internal resistance has also prompted DHS to solicit "volunteers" for Minneapolis deployment, with many agents declaring that they do not want to go, Klippenstein reported. One document requested 200 additional Border Patrol agents and 100 "processing coordinators" for the week of January 11.
An anonymous ICE agent told Klippenstein that many colleagues are hesitant about deploying to the Twin Cities after massive protests since Good was shot by an agent last Wednesday.
"We do have personnel but some just don't want to go," the agent said.
A high-level career official at Homeland Security headquarters in Washington expressed concern about the operation's direction. "There might be some immature knuckleheads who think they are out there trying to capture Nicolas Maduro, but most field officers see a clear need for deescalation," the agents said.
The official added: "There is genuine fear that indeed ICE's heavy-handedness and the rhetoric from Washington is more creating a condition where the officers' lives are in danger rather than the other way around."
An unnamed Border Patrol agent attributed escalating tensions directly to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, who characterized Good as engaged in "domestic terrorism" hours after her death.
"There is a video and she just lied," the agent said.
