ICE arrests surge past 51,000 as enforcement tactics intensify nationwide
ICE arrests hit 51,000 monthly with disguised officers conducting intensified street-level enforcement operations.
Event / Politics
Reports of incidents involving ICE operations and immigration enforcement procedures, including vehicle-related injuries and accountability investigations.
2026-08-26 to 2026-10-28 · UTC publication dates
Coverage begins 26 Aug, 02:34 UTC
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Renee Good's family retained the Chicago-based law firm Romanucci & Blandin days after her death in January 2026. The firm, founded by Antonio M. Romanucci, also represented George Floyd's family. The law firm launched its own civil investigation and sent the federal government a preservation letter seeking records, video, communications, and physical evidence related to the shooting.
At least 10 people have died in encounters with immigration officers during President Donald Trump's second term, according to statements in the articles. The deaths include Renee Good in Minneapolis on January 7, 2026, Alex Pretti in Minneapolis weeks later, Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Biddeford, Maine in July 2026, and others. These incidents have sparked widespread outrage and calls to rein in immigration enforcement practices.
On October 1, 2026, Renee Good's family filed a lawsuit against the United States of America under the Federal Tort Claims Act, alleging wrongful death, battery, assault, false imprisonment, and intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress. The lawsuit was filed by Good's partner Becca Good and her brother Brent Ganger as trustee for Good's next of kin, including her three children, parents, and siblings. The suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages to be determined at trial and requests a bench trial. It also alleges that federal agents unlawfully confined Good despite her having committed no crime or threatened any violence, and did not render medical aid after the shooting.
Renee Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen and mother of three, was fatally shot on January 7, 2026, by ICE officer Jonathan Ross during an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis. Good was in the driver's seat of a red SUV with her partner Becca Good nearby. According to video evidence, after being ordered out of the vehicle, Good reversed briefly then turned the steering wheel as the officer fired three shots—one through the windshield and two through the open driver's side window. An independent autopsy commissioned by Good's family found three gunshot paths: one through her left forearm, another through the right side of her chest, and a third entering near her left temple and exiting the other side of her head. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner classified her death as a homicide.
On October 1, 2026, Renee Good's family filed a 149-page civil rights lawsuit alleging a conspiracy to interfere with civil rights under the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871. The complaint alleges that White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, border czar Tom Homan, Corey Lewandowski, then-acting ICE director Todd Lyons, former Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino, and 10 unidentified federal agents conspired to deprive Minnesota's Somali and Hispanic communities of equal protection under the law through Operation Metro Surge. The lawsuit argues that Good was targeted while engaged in observing and warning neighbors about the federal immigration operation, and that her killing was a product of the discriminatory campaign.
After months of resistance, federal authorities released hard drives containing previously withheld evidence in July 2026, along with Renee Good's bullet-damaged SUV to state investigators. Hennepin County prosecutors, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and the state attorney general's office had sued the federal government for access to evidence including Good's SUV, videos, witness interviews, and records related to the officers involved. State investigators indicated they had begun reviewing the material and had not prejudged whether criminal charges were warranted.
Operation Metro Surge was a large-scale immigration enforcement operation that deployed approximately 2,000 additional ICE officers across the Minneapolis area and Minnesota. The operation was conducted under former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's direction and was part of similar enforcement surges in other Democratic-led cities. According to the lawsuit and court filings, the operation drew fierce opposition from state and local officials, who accused the Trump administration of singling out Minnesota and other Democratic jurisdictions for aggressive federal enforcement.
Federal prosecutors in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas charged Wilber Rafael Garces Perez with one count of assaulting, resisting and impeding a federal officer on September 29, 2026. The charge alleges that Garces Perez struck an ICE officer with his vehicle's driver's side-view mirror while attempting to flee from the traffic stop. If convicted, Garces Perez faces up to 20 years in prison.
Wilber Rafael Garces Perez entered the United States in 2024 using CBP One, a program begun under President Joe Biden that allowed migrants to make appointments with U.S. authorities to be considered for asylum. Garces Perez was an asylum seeker and held a valid work permit at the time of his arrest. President Trump ended the CBP One program on his first day in office in January 2025.
An immigration judge issued a final order of removal against Wilber Rafael Garces Perez after he missed an immigration court hearing. According to his attorney, the hearing notice was sent to a former address, which is why Garces Perez did not appear.
In recent cases where federal law enforcement shot individuals, assault charges filed against the shooting victims were dropped. A woman shot multiple times by Border Patrol officers in Chicago was accused of assaulting officers but charges were dropped. A man shot in the leg by an ICE agent in Minneapolis faced similar charges that were also dropped. The Minneapolis ICE officer was subsequently charged with lying about being assaulted before shooting the man.
On September 20, 2026, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, a 28-year-old Venezuelan delivery driver making a DoorDash delivery, during a traffic stop in Austin, Texas. The officer, identified as L.G., fired his pistol after Garces Perez drove away from the stop. The bullet struck Garces Perez in his upper back and lodged near his spine. Garces Perez was transported to a hospital but was then released into ICE custody while still carrying the lodged bullet.
After driving away from the initial traffic stop near a shopping center, Wilber Rafael Garces Perez led ICE officers on a high-speed chase through commercial and residential areas of Austin, Texas. The chase ended when an ICE vehicle struck Garces Perez's car, causing it to spin around.
During President Donald Trump's second term, ICE reported more than 50,000 monthly arrests in July and August 2026, marking a first for the agency. This surge followed intensified immigration enforcement efforts across the United States.
Wilber Rafael Garces Perez made an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Austin, Texas on September 30, 2026 (Tuesday) to address the assault charge filed against him. U.S. Magistrate Judge Dustin Howell scheduled a detention hearing for October 2, 2026.
According to the DHS affidavit, ICE officer L.G. was struck in the torso by Garces Perez's driver's side-view mirror when the vehicle drove away from the traffic stop. However, Garces Perez provided a different account to investigators, stating that an ICE officer's SUV struck his car during the chase, causing it to spin, and only then was he shot. Body camera footage appears to show the officer moving out of the way as the car moves forward.
During the September 20 traffic stop and shooting, only one of the two ICE officers involved wore a body camera. The officer who actually fired the shot, identified as L.G., was not wearing a body camera. The other officer, D.F., was wearing a body camera, but footage from it only captured events after Garces Perez had already been shot. ICE announced that field officers nationwide will have body-worn cameras by the end of September 2026.
Garces Perez entered the United States legally in 2024 using the CBP One program, which was established under President Biden to allow asylum seekers to schedule appointments at official ports of entry. He had obtained a valid work permit and was pursuing asylum. However, he received a deportation order in absentia after missing an immigration court hearing because the notice was sent to an old address.
Protesters gathered outside the Texas Capitol in Austin on Monday evening to demonstrate against ICE, carrying signs demanding justice for Wilber Perez. Candles, flowers, and signs reading 'Justice for Wilber' were left at the shooting scene, with anti-ICE graffiti marked on concrete pylons.
The ICE officer who shot Garces Perez was placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure for officers involved in pending investigations. The Department of Homeland Security's Homeland Security Investigations division is leading the investigation with FBI assistance.
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