The DOJ (Department of Justice) declined to pursue a civil rights investigation; ICE agents refused to allow medical assistance to Good by a physician on scene, and the agent who shot Good—Jonathan Ross—is not facing any charges for ending a life. 

On January 24th, Alex Jeffrey Pretti was also shot and killed by ICE. Pretti was shot 10 times in under 5 seconds by multiple agents.

After investigation, the shots were ruled as “defensive” even though Pretti was not a threat, was only recording the event, was a U.S. citizen, and was not a criminal or danger to anyone.  

These cases—along with many others—give us a concrete example of serious problems with ICE, including accountability, authority, ethics, and violence, and additionally shows why even supporters of these actions should be worried. 

ICE agents operate under excessive and extraordinary power. Along with legal permissions, ICE agents have a sense of dangerous pride, enabling them to see themselves above other high powers in each situation. ICE agents are considered federal law enforcement; however, a journalist named Laura Jedeed went undercover to reveal what the hiring process actually looked like for an ICE agent. 

Jedeed’s work reveals that the process is not as rigorous as claimed. She states that the interview lasted only six minutes, focused on perfunctory questions; she did not complete the paperwork (yet still received an offer), and progressed through multiple levels without thorough background checks. 

The authority ICE agents have is not proportional to the process through which they get there. The enablement of those powers is dangerous because it leaves us with situations like the Renee Good and Alex Pretti murders and creates deeper distrust between civilians and those they are expected to obey. 

Additional distrust comes from this shooting being ignored on a federal level. Declining further investigation regarding the Good shooting undermines public trust and leaves people wondering: if a citizen can be killed without federal review, what else is going to happen? This case paves the way for law enforcement to continue pushing the limits of what they can get away with—meaning they are not protecting us, serving us, or creating justice, but instead abusing their power and ensuring they are above everyone else. 

Another blurred line regarding ICE is the morals and ethics of their work. Right-leaning media highlights ICE as protecting the U.S. from “illegal aliens,” “criminals,” and “dangerous immigrants.”

However, when looking at Good and Pretti, we can see that these are not the intentions. They were legal U.S. citizens, along with 170+ other U.S. citizens wrongly detained by ICE, according to ProPublica. 

The notion that all immigrants are dangerous or criminals is false.

According to tracreports.org, 73.6% of immigrants (legal and undocumented) have zero criminal convictions. The other 26.4% (13,992,000 convicted individuals) largely have minor convictions such as parking violations, with only about 5% being violent offenders. An additional study from americanimmigrationcouncil.org shows that as of 2022, while immigrants made up 13.9% of the population, the total crime rate dropped by 60.4%. 

To put this in perspective, only 70% of U.S. citizens have zero criminal convictions. The other 30% (90,600,000) are convicted criminals. This shows that U.S. citizens have 3.6% more convicted criminals than both legal and undocumented immigrants. 

To put it simply: immigrants are no more dangerous than the citizens of the United States.  This clearly shows that people who support deportation are not actually supporting the removal of criminals from the country, but instead the removal of people with different cultures, ethnic backgrounds, and beliefs than their own. 

Everyone needs to recognize—no matter your political stance—that the actions being pursued by ICE should be worrisome to everyone. The things we are seeing ICE do not only affect those at risk of deportation but also pose a risk to every person with democratic and legal rights. We see ICE threatening freedom of speech, due process, privacy, and human and civil rights. 

It is important to put the implications of ICE’s actions in the context of other belief systems held by those who support it.

In relation to the pro-life movement: nobody can claim to care about protecting life if they are not willing to protect an already established, grown person’s life—like Renee Good’s—more than an unborn one, whether they agree with her or not.  

This same application can be used in the context of gun rights. During the shooting, Pretti was in possession of a firearm: However, he did not have it out, he owned the gun with a permit, he was not holding it in his hands, and it is stated by the 2nd amendment that people have the right to bear arms. 

When the shots were fired, the murder was called defense because Pretti was bearing a firearm—which implies limits to the freedom of this amendment– moreover contradicting gun right defenses often held by supporters of ICE, 

This same principal can be applied to law and order, religion, free speech, and law-enforcement brutality by examining the stated values and recognizing the contradictions. 

The actions of ICE are morally, ethically, and reasonably undefendable from every point of view. If ICE shows up to immigrants’ places of work, it was never about them not working. If ICE shows up at court houses, it was never about immigrants “doing it the right way”. If ICE uses undocumented peoples tax records to find them and take them, it was never about them not paying taxes. If ICE is detaining U.S. citizens, deporting legal people, women, and children, it was never about deporting criminals. Finally, if ICE is doing all of this in the name of a 34-time convicted felon, Donald Trump, it was never about following the law. 

ICE agents are domestic terrorists. They are detaining and pepper spraying children, throwing tear gas at preschools, shooting innocent people, militarizing the streets for the sake of getting rid of those different than them, and doing this all in the country considered the melting pot of the world. NOBODY is illegal on stolen land, VIOLENCE solves nothing, HUMANS are not animals, aliens, savages, or illegal for existing, and the word RSVP is written nowhere on the statue of liberty. 

The idea that this could never happen to “someone like you” is the comfort that keeps it possible. Renee Good and Alex Pretti were U.S. citizens and good people; they were not accused of a crime. If those facts were not enough to protect them, they are not guaranteed to anyone else. Every time a death like Good’s or Pretti’s is excused without scrutiny, it sets a precedent—and precedents do not ask who you voted for before they apply. Renee and Alex deserved to live their lives just like anyone else, including immigrants, but instead they were wrongfully taken. These deaths should unsettle everyone—because it proves none of us are immune.