WASHINGTON, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Tensions are soaring in the U.S. city of Minneapolis as protests enter their third day following the fatal shooting of a 37-year-old woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Minnesota earlier this week.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has alleged that the victim, Renee Good, was attempting to run over law enforcement officers when an ICE officer fatally shot her Wednesday morning -- a claim that local officials have disputed.
Demonstrations turned confrontational on Thursday morning in front of the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, which is being used as a launching pad to crack down on migrants who are living in the city illegally. Hundreds of protesters gathered, shouting "shame" and "murder" at ICE agents.
Federal officers, including Border Patrol and ICE agents, used pepper spray, tear gas, pepper balls, and smoke devices to disperse the crowd, which agents claimed was growing violent.
The DHS, which governs the ICE, said federal officers were assaulted with rocks, chunks of ice, and pepper spray and reported that two people were charged with assaulting federal officers and that officers sustained multiple injuries.
Some media outlets claimed the protesters were merely throwing snowballs at agents, not ice or rocks.
DHS Spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said officers "were conducting targeted operations" when individuals started trying to block ICE vehicles, calling the woman one of the "violent rioters."
However, some alleged witnesses said it looked like the woman was driving away when the shooting occurred, according to U.S. media.
The shooting incident is under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Homeland Security's Office of the Inspector General.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance defended the ICE agent who shot the protester, claiming the woman had attempted to run over officers.
"She tried to run somebody over with her car, and the guy defended himself when that happened," Vance said at a White House press briefing on Thursday, accusing media of "lying about this attack."
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz have demanded the ICE leave the city and state immediately, arguing that the presence of the ICE is causing chaos.
The shooting and its fallout occurred after the U.S. federal government deployed around 2,000 agents to the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, in what the administration of President Donald Trump has labeled the largest immigration operation ever.
The 30-day "surge" in the state of Minnesota's largest two cities is a bid to enforce immigration laws and investigate widespread fraud allegedly committed by members of the Somali immigrant community there.
"In this case, it's not just immigration -- it's about a show of force in, or rather against, a city and state that has consistently opposed Trump over the last decade. From that perspective, the disruption and chaos these actions create is more the point than any actual impact on immigration," said Christopher Galdieri, a political science professor at Saint Anselm College in the northeastern state of New Hampshire.
While protests continued in Minneapolis, a separate enforcement shooting unfolded Thursday in Portland, Oregon, where a Customs and Border Protection agent shot and injured two people, further highlighting the broader national tensions surrounding immigration enforcement.
"When agents identified themselves to the vehicle occupants, the driver weaponized his vehicle and attempted to run over the law enforcement agents," said the DHS in a statement.
"Portland is now grappling with another deeply troubling incident," Portland Mayor Keith Wilson said in a statement, adding that the city could not "sit by while constitutional protections erode and bloodshed mounts."
Wilson called on the ICE to halt all operations in the city pending the investigation.
"We know what the federal government says happened here," Wilson told reporters. "The administration is trying to divide us, to pit communities against each other. Portland, this is a moment to hold each other close." ■
