Renee Good died two weeks ago when an ICE agent shot her three times during Trump's massive immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.
Democrats have been screaming about it ever since – calling it murder, demanding investigations, whipping up protesters in the streets.
Today, JD Vance flew straight into ground zero with a message Tim Walz and Jacob Frey aren't going to like.
Vice President Doubles Down On Immigration Enforcement After Fatal ICE Shooting
Vance touched down in Minneapolis Thursday afternoon to meet with ICE agents and local leaders.
His message was direct: "If you want to turn down the chaos in Minneapolis, stop fighting immigration enforcement and accept that we have to have a border in this country."
The vice president didn't show up to apologize or offer olive branches to Democrats who've been calling ICE agents murderers.
He showed up to reinforce Trump's position – these agents are heroes doing their jobs, and Democrat officials have been sabotaging them at every turn.
Walz and Frey got federal subpoenas Tuesday from the Justice Department for allegedly conspiring to obstruct ICE operations.
Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino held a press conference hours before Vance arrived, accusing Minnesota's Democrat leaders of "collusion and corruption" with anarchist protesters.
"Our agents are being violently assaulted by agitators and anarchists," Bovino said, displaying photos of three illegal immigrants arrested in recent days – all charged with sexual abuse-related crimes.
Democrats don't want to talk about those arrests.
They want to talk about how ICE is "terrorizing" neighborhoods and how Renee Good was a "loving mother" who didn't deserve to die.
Here's what they're not telling you: Good was part of a coordinated network of activists who've been following ICE agents around Minneapolis for weeks, blowing whistles to alert neighborhoods, blocking streets, creating exactly the kind of dangerous confrontations that get people hurt.
Vance called her "brainwashed" at a White House briefing two weeks ago – suggesting she had links to a "broader, left-wing network" organizing resistance to ICE operations across the city.
Trump Administration Threatens Military Deployment Over Minneapolis ICE Protests
Trump already threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act last week if Minnesota officials don't stop what he called "professional agitators and insurrectionists" from attacking ICE agents.
Hundreds of military police troops are on standby, ready to deploy to Minneapolis if the violence against federal agents continues.
When ICE showed up to enforce the law after a sprawling fraud investigation revealed massive welfare abuse in Minnesota's Somali immigrant community, Minneapolis Democrats declared war.
Walz told residents to "protest loudly" and film ICE agents to "establish a record" of what's happening.
Frey told ICE to "get the fuck out of Minneapolis" after Good's death.
Keith Ellison, Minnesota's attorney general, joined the chorus demanding investigations into ICE rather than the protesters blocking federal operations.
The result: massive street protests, violent clashes between demonstrators and federal agents, agitators storming a church during Sunday services.
Minneapolis Sanctuary City Policies Under Fire After Immigration Operation
Minneapolis's sanctuary city policies sent a message to criminal illegal aliens: Minneapolis is a safe space, federal immigration law doesn't apply here, and local Democrats will protect you from deportation even if you're a sex offender.
That fraud scandal involving charges against dozens of people for stealing taxpayer money meant for American families is what forced Walz to announce he won't run for re-election this year.
Trump deployed 2,000 ICE agents to Minneapolis in early January as part of what DHS called the largest immigration enforcement operation ever conducted.
The administration is using Minneapolis as a test case: What happens when you confront sanctuary city Democrats head-on, deploy massive federal enforcement, threaten military intervention, and force local officials to choose between protecting criminal aliens or protecting their political careers?
Vance's message Thursday was aimed at voters as much as it was at Walz and Frey.
You want law and order? Stop electing Democrats who fight against federal immigration enforcement.
You want your neighborhoods safe? Stop protecting criminals just because they crossed the border illegally.
You want the chaos to end? Accept that America has borders and ICE agents have a job to do.
Trump knows Minnesota is winnable – Republicans haven't won a statewide race there in 20 years, but the state is shifting right.
Minneapolis Democrats can keep screaming about ICE being murderers and Trump being a fascist.
But Vance just showed up in their city and dared them to keep fighting – knowing that every protest, every obstruction, every act of violence against federal agents makes Trump's case stronger and their position weaker.
Sources:
- Paul Steinhauser and Greg Norman-Diamond, "Vance tells Minneapolis to 'stop fighting' ICE as White House doubles down on crackdown," Fox News, January 22, 2026.
- Henry J. Gomez, "Vance says he'll try to calm tensions in Minneapolis – while still criticizing officials and protesters there," NBC News, January 22, 2026.
- "White House accuses Tim Walz, Jacob Frey of inciting anti-ICE church mob," Fox News, January 19, 2026.
- Jacob Frey, "Mayor's remarks after ICE agents fatally shoots woman in Minneapolis," Minneapolis Star Tribune, January 7, 2026.
- "What are we supposed to make of Tim Walz not running for a third term?," MinnPost, January 6, 2026.