Elected Democrats in Minnesota have not issued public statements regarding multiple killings committed by illegal immigrants in the state over the years, even as they quickly reacted to the recent death of a woman who interfered with an ICE operation and was fatally shot after allegedly driving her vehicle toward a federal officer.
On January 7, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were conducting targeted immigration enforcement in Minneapolis when a woman, later identified as Renee Good, drove her vehicle toward an officer. According to officials, she “weaponized” her SUV in an attempt to harm agents conducting their duties. An ICE officer, positioned in front of the vehicle, discharged his weapon in what federal authorities have deemed a defensive use of force. Video footage shows Good accelerating toward the officer, and she was later pronounced dead after sustaining gunshot wounds to the chest, arm, and head. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) described the act as “domestic terrorism.”
Despite the circumstances surrounding the shooting, Democratic leaders in Minnesota have focused their criticism on ICE. No such attention has been directed toward victims of crimes committed by individuals unlawfully present in the country. An examination of public records and official government websites confirms there have been no documented public statements via government sites or verified social media accounts from Gov. Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, or Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey regarding several deadly incidents involving illegal immigrants.
In one case, Victoria Harwell, a Minnesota mother, was killed in a drunk driving crash in 2024. The driver, German Adriano Llangari Inga, an Ecuadorian national with an ICE detainer, was initially released from Hennepin County Jail despite a federal hold request. ICE later arrested Inga, who had been evading prosecution. Officials criticized local authorities for non-cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, citing sanctuary city policies.
Another case involved Clarisse Grime, a 16-year-old struck and killed in 2012 by Carlos Viveros-Colorado, an illegal immigrant from Mexico. Viveros-Colorado, who had no Minnesota driver’s license, was sentenced to over five years in prison. Reports indicate he also injured another pedestrian during the crash.
The Patel family, including two children, died in 2022 while attempting to cross the U.S.-Canada border during a blizzard. Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel, a 29-year-old Indian national formerly of Florida, was sentenced in 2025 to ten years and one month in prison for his role in the smuggling conspiracy that resulted in the family’s deaths. He will be deported from the United States following his sentence, according to the Department of Justice.
Other violent crimes tied to individuals residing in the U.S. illegally include the 2015 murder of 90-year-old Minnesota farmer Earl Orlander. Two men, Reinol Vergara and Edson Benitez, bound, beat, and robbed Orlander before killing him. Both were later sentenced to 25 years in prison and face deportation. In 2018, Alexis Saborit-Viltres, an illegal alien from Cuba, was indicted for the decapitation of his girlfriend in Shakopee. That same year, Diaz-Carbajal, who was previously deported and reentered illegally, fatally stabbed his former girlfriend in Minneapolis.
ICE operations in Minnesota have led to the removal of 2,500 criminal aliens tied to violent crimes. DHS reports that another 1,360 remain in city custody under ICE detainers but are at risk of being released due to local non-cooperation. In one recent enforcement action, ICE agents arrested individuals with histories of murder, domestic abuse, drug trafficking, and identity theft. Among those arrested were Hien Quoc Thai, convicted of murder, and Brian Anjain, who had 24 convictions, including assault, public intoxication, and domestic abuse.
Minnesota leaders have reiterated their commitment to sanctuary city policies. The Minneapolis City Council in December 2025 expanded protections for illegal immigrants by prohibiting city employees from assisting in federal immigration enforcement or permitting ICE to use city facilities during operations.
Meanwhile, federal officials, including DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, continue to press Minnesota leaders to cooperate with federal enforcement. McLaughlin has publicly demanded that Mayor Jacob Frey and Gov. Tim Walz “stop releasing criminal aliens onto the streets where they can continue committing crimes against American citizens,” calling it a matter of “common sense.”
President Donald Trump has also weighed in, warning that obstruction of immigration enforcement could lead to the deployment of U.S. military personnel under federal authority. “If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E.,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, “I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT … and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State.”
At the same time, the Department of Justice has launched a federal investigation into Gov. Walz and Mayor Frey for their alleged efforts to block immigration operations.
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