Reed Demands Independent ICE Investigation, Accountability & Reform

WASHINGTON, DC - On February 2, 2026, after two American citizens were shot and killed by federal immigration and border agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota, then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem pledged the department would "rapidly acquire and deploy" body cameras to its officers around the country. That has not happened despite Republicans in Congress voting to provide ICE and Border Patrol with $210 billion.

Over the last week, ICE agents fatally shot two people in the streets of Texas and Maine. None of the ICE officers involved were wearing body cameras, which could have helped establish the facts of the shootings. Instead, the American people got written and shifting accounts of the incidents from Trump officials that are disputed by witnesses, and, in the case of the shooting in Maine, DHS's account does not appear to match up with the video taken by a bystander. This is a similar pattern that occurred with ICE's unwarranted killings of U.S. citizens in Minnesota.

According to the New York Times: "Since last year, federal agents have fired on more than 20 people, many of whom were shot in their vehicles. In some cases, video evidence has undermined the accounts initially provided by federal officials." And according to The Atlantic: The Shooter in Maine Was a New ICE Recruit. Meanwhile, NBC reports: "The administration's pressure to increase arrests has put officers under "too much stress," sources said, after two men who weren't initial ICE targets were killed in less than a week."

Today, U.S. Senator Jack Reed issued the following statement:

"I've opposed funding Trump's ICE. Under the Trump Administration, federal agents have repeatedly engaged in a disturbing pattern of unwarranted, indefensible killings and violence. There needs to be a thorough and transparent investigation into these shootings.

"A systemic lack of oversight, training, discipline, and accountability throughout the Trump Administration is contributing to unwarranted, unjustified killings by masked government agents and cast doubt on the actions of officers who follow the law and do the hard work of protecting our communities.

"There must be an independent, criminal investigation into these incidents. The officer who reportedly told the agent who fired the fatal shots to 'stop, to relax, to calm down,' just before the shots were fired, should testify. All the facts of the case should come out. One unjustified killing by the federal government is one too many. ICE's pattern of reckless shootings needs to end and the individuals responsible should face the full legal consequences for their misdeeds."

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