ICE Enforcement Fractures the Country: Dead Citizens in Minnesota, a Convicted Shooter in Texas

ICE agents fatally shot Renee Good, a mother of three, in Minneapolis on January 7, 2026. Three weeks later, on January 24, they fatally shot Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse, also in Minneapolis. Both were U.S. citizens.

At the same time, a man named Juan Ayala-Montero — a 60-year-old illegal alien from Mexico with convictions for homicide, assault, drunk driving, and aggravated assault with a firearm — opened fire on a group of people in New Caney, Texas over Memorial Day weekend, according to Breitbart News. One victim was shot in the torso and head. Ayala-Montero had already been deported once, in 2006. He came back illegally in 2007. ICE is now seeking custody.

Both stories are real. Mainstream coverage is treating them like they exist in separate universes.

What the Polls Actually Say

An ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll conducted in February 2026 found that Americans oppose ICE's tactics by a 2-to-1 margin. Trump's immigration approval rating hit 58% disapproval, 40% approval — the worst of his second term, according to ABC News.

Americans still don't trust Democrats on immigration more than Trump. The same poll found 38% trust Trump more on the issue, 34% trust congressional Democrats more, and 24% trust neither. That undermines the party calling ICE agents "secret police."

The Brookings Institution framed the numbers as evidence that "ICE enforcement actions are making cities less safe" — noting Americans are 20% more likely to believe that than the opposite. Brookings is a left-leaning think tank, and that framing skips the Ayala-Montero case entirely.

Democrats Are Saying the Quiet Part Loud

According to NBC News, the "Abolish ICE" movement is making a comeback in Democratic primary politics. Illinois congressional candidate Patty Garcia said: "F--- ICE." Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner called ICE an organization used to "kidnap Americans" and called for "trials" of ICE agents. A Parkland shooting survivor named Cameron Kasky running for New York's 12th Congressional District called ICE "the President's fascist secret police."

NBC News noted that most mainstream Democrats are NOT going that far — they're pushing for oversight and transparency, NOT abolition. That's an important distinction the right-wing media glosses over.

But the fringe is getting louder. When two American citizens are dead at the hands of federal agents, you can't dismiss that and move on.

New York's Mayor and New Jersey's Senator Are Not Helping

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani went on MSNBC's The Briefing with host Jen Psaki and called ICE actions "cruel and inhumane," saying the agency operates "with impunity" across the five boroughs, according to Breitbart News. He's proud of NYC's sanctuary city status.

What is Mamdani's plan for Juan Ayala-Montero? What is his plan for the Dhaval Amratbhai Patel case in Massachusetts — an illegal alien from India who attacked a man with a baseball bat, was arrested, and then released by sanctuary authorities before ICE re-arrested him on May 18, according to Breitbart News?

Senator Cory Booker toured a detention facility in New Jersey and called conditions there a "moral abomination," according to Breitbart News. He's right to scrutinize conditions. But he also called the facility a "for-profit prison" that "showered Republicans with cash" — a political attack dressed up as concern for detainees.

Massachusetts Is a Case Study in What Not to Do

Governor Maura Healey has spent more than $1 billion on illegal migrant emergency shelter for fiscal year 2025 alone, according to Fox News as cited by Breitbart — a program originally built for Massachusetts families in need. Meanwhile, the state has seen $12 million in public benefits fraud, $7 million in SNAP fraud, $1 million in MassHealth and Social Security fraud, and a Mass DOT payroll fraud scheme, according to the state GOP. Healey has NOT prosecuted a single fraud case tied to these schemes, according to Breitbart News.

Fiscal recklessness and lax enforcement of fraud create the conditions that fuel public backlash against immigration policy broadly.

What Is Actually Going On

Two things can be true at the same time. ICE killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis — that is an accountability crisis that demands answers, transparency, and consequences if the law was violated.

And: A man with a homicide conviction re-entered the country illegally after deportation and shot someone in Texas. Sanctuary policies in Massachusetts released a man who attacked someone with a baseball bat. These are not hypothetical risks.

The left's media coverage screams about ICE tactics and mostly ignores criminal recidivism by people who should have been deported. The right's media coverage amplifies every crime by an illegal alien and mostly ignores the dead citizens in Minneapolis.

Regular Americans — who are NOT elected officials, NOT cable news hosts, and NOT think tank fellows — are living with the consequences of a broken system on both ends. They want the border secure AND they want federal agents who are accountable to the law. Those two things are not mutually exclusive.

The politicians making this a culture war weapon — on both sides — are the problem. The people catching stray bullets, in Minneapolis or in New Caney, are paying the price.