In the aftermath of a tragic incident where a woman was fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis, Mayor Jacob Frey delivered an impassioned message directed at ICE. Just hours after the incident, Mayor Frey made it abundantly clear that the presence of immigration enforcement in the city was unwelcome.

The Democratic mayor didn’t mince words, urging ICE to “get the f**k out of Minneapolis.” He criticized the federal agency for claiming to ensure safety while, in his view, achieving the opposite.

Frey pointed out the detrimental effects of ICE’s actions, emphasizing that “people are being hurt” and “families are being ripped apart” by the immigration authorities’ interventions.

He passionately argued that long-time Minneapolis residents, who have significantly contributed to the local community, culture, and economy, are facing unnecessary terror, culminating in the recent death. “That’s on you,” he proclaimed, placing responsibility on ICE, while also demanding their departure from the city.

‘Long-term Minneapolis residents that have contributed so greatly to our city, to our culture, to our economy, are being terrorized and now somebody is dead. That’s on you – and it’s also on you to leave.’

The woman, 37, was shot Wednesday after she allegedly tried to ram officers with her car ‘in an attempt to kill them’ during ICE’s operations in Minneapolis, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told the Daily Mail in a statement. 

DHS claimed the middle-aged white woman ‘weaponized her vehicle’ and called her actions an ‘act of domestic terrorism.’

Frey dismissed ICE’s justification of self defense as ‘garbage,’ stating that he reviewed video of the shooting and ‘I can tell you that is bull****.’

Mayor Jacob Frey gave an extraordinary message to ICE after a woman was shot dead inside a car by federal agents in Minneapolis

FBI agents and police work the scene following a fatal shooting by an ICE agent on Wednesday morning in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Photographer King Demetrius Pendleton has his eyes flushed after being hit with chemical irritants in Minneapolis on Wednesday

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz echoed Frey’s analysis, saying in a statement released on X: ‘I’ve seen the video. Don’t believe this propaganda machine.

‘The state will ensure there is a full, fair, and expeditious investigation to ensure accountability and justice.’

Life-saving aid was rendered to the shooting victim, but she succumbed to her injuries. Police found the woman with a gunshot wound to the head, according to Police Chief Brian O’Hara.

Senator Tina Smith said the woman was a US citizen. O’Hara said nothing indicated that ‘this woman was the target of a law enforcement investigation.’

The woman has not been identified by officials, but they have described her as a middle-aged white woman. Her spouse has arrived at the hospital, where she was pronounced dead, the chief said.

Frey has repeatedly blasted the federal immigration crackdown on the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.

‘They are not here to cause safety in this city. What they are doing is not to provide safety in America. What they are doing is causing chaos and distrust,’ Frey said after the fatal shooting.

‘They’re ripping families apart. They’re sowing chaos on our streets and in this case quite literally killing people.’

People protest as law enforcement officers attend to the scene of the shooting involving federal law enforcement agents, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, in Minneapolis

Border Patrol agents stand guard as protesters block a street after an ICE officer involved shooting in Minneapolis on Wednesday

Wednesday’s shooting marks a dramatic escalation of the latest in a series of immigration enforcement operations in major American cities under the Trump administration. It’s at least the fifth person killed in a handful of states since 2024.

The twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul have been on edge since the Department of Homeland Security announced Tuesday that it had launched the operation, with more than 2,000 agents and officers expected to participate in the crackdown tied in part to allegations of fraud involving Somali residents.

During a news conference in Texas on Wednesday, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed that the agency had deployed more than 2,000 officers to the Twin Cities and already made ‘hundreds and hundreds’ of arrests. 

For nearly a year, migrant rights advocates and neighborhood activists across the Twin Cities have been preparing to mobilize in the event of an immigration enforcement surge.

From houses of worship to mobile home parks, they have set up very active online networks, scanned license plates for possible federal vehicles and bought whistles and other noise-making devices to alert neighborhoods of any enforcement presence.

On Tuesday night, the Immigration Defense Network, a coalition of groups serving immigrants in Minnesota, held a training session for about 100 people who were willing to hit the streets to monitor the federal enforcement operation. 

Protesters demonstrate at the scene of a fatal shooting of a woman by ICE in Minneapolis

People gather near the scene of a suspected shooting by an ICE agent during federal law enforcement operations on January 7, 2026 in Minneapolis

Frey is no stranger to controversy and has been known to issue questionable remarks.

He was met with scrutiny in 2024 after he branded people who work from home as ‘losers’ during a Minneapolis Downtown Council meeting.

The mayor, in his speech, accused remote workers of ‘diddling on their laptop’ while snuggled up on the couch with a ‘nasty cat blanket.’ 

He later admitted the comment was a ‘joke that perhaps was not funny.’

Frey divided opinions again last year with his impassioned remarks at an August press conference after the shooting at Annunciation Catholic School. 

‘Children are dead, there are families that have a deceased child. You cannot put into words the gravity, tragedy or absolute pain of the situation,’ he said in the aftermath. 

‘Don’t just say this is about thoughts and prayers right now, these kids were literally praying. It was the first week of school, they were in a church.’ 

Minnesota Bishop Robert Barron condemned Frey’s response and branded it ‘completely asinine’ after the tragedy where children were shot inside a church.

Protesters clash with police after a driver of a vehicle was shot on Wednesday amid an immigration enforcement surge in Minneapolis

‘Catholics don’t think that prayer magically protects them from all suffering. After all, Jesus prayed fervently from the cross on which he was dying,’ Barron told Fox News at the time. 

Barron, who leads the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, argued that critics misunderstand the role of prayer, and said ‘prayer is the raising of the mind and heart to God, which strikes me as altogether appropriate precisely at times of great pain.’ 

The Democrat mayor has also previously been accused by his opponents of creating a divided city government that does not work well with county and state partners.

Minnesota state Senator Omar Fateh, who challenged Frey in last year’s mayoral election, claimed during a debate that he was ‘hostile’ towards other leaders.