Deadly force without accountability: How ICE’s trigger-happy tactics are killing American citizens and why DHS denies everything

The American public witnessed something that should have sparked national outrage and demanded immediate congressional investigation: ICE agents shooting dead two American citizens in January 2026, with a third case uncovered from March 2025 that had been buried for nearly a year. Renee Good and Alex Pretti were both U.S. citizens shot and killed by immigration enforcement officers in broad daylight, while Ruben Ray Martinez’s death in March 2025 only came to light twelve months later through independent journalism. And these cases are just the tip of the iceberg!

The federal government has responded not with accountability but with blanket denials, doubling down on dehumanizing language that paints victims as threats and journalists as purveyors of “garbage.” When the same agency that killed American citizens also denies reports of torture, beatings and medical neglect in its detention facilities, the American people must ask what other abuses are occurring behind closed doors and who will protect citizens from the very agencies sworn to protect them.

Key points:

• ICE agents shot and killed two American citizens in January 2026, with a third case from March 2025 uncovered a year later.
• The Wall Street Journal identified 13 instances of immigration officers firing at civilian vehicles since July 2025, resulting in 8 gunshot wounds and 2 deaths.
• At least 5 people shot by ICE during this period were U.S. citizens.
• DHS denies all reports of abuse, torture and medical neglect despite detailed testimony from 10 deportees, reported by the NYTimes.
• Federal police training standards prohibit firing into moving vehicles except in extreme circumstances.

The pattern of deadly force against moving vehicles

The Department of Homeland Security has repeatedly attempted to justify shootings of civilians by claiming drivers were weaponizing their vehicles or attempting to ram agents. However, video evidence in multiple cases has shown drivers attempting to maneuver away from agents at the time of the shooting.

The federal government’s own training standards, including those from the Department of Justice, explicitly train officers not to fire into moving vehicles. These standards exist because firing at a moving driver is inherently dangerous, risks hitting innocent people in the vehicle or on the street and can lead to catastrophic collisions when the driver dies. Police are also trained not to endanger themselves by standing in front of moving vehicles, and that intentionally putting themselves in danger does not create a right of self-defense. Safer alternatives exist, including recording license plates and tracking down occupants later. Yet ICE agents have continued this practice, resulting in deaths of U.S. citizens whose only crime may have been attempting to leave a situation that felt threatening.

The denial machine at DHS

When the New York Times reported on 10 deportees who experienced torture, beatings and medical neglect in ICE detention facilities, the Department of Homeland Security responded with characteristic deflection. “Another day and another hoax about ICE detention from the @nytimes,” DHS wrote on social media.

“The media is clearly desperate for these false allegations to be true. NO ONE is being tortured, denied medical care, or beaten in ICE detention facilities.” The department went further, arguing that such reporting is “fueling the more than 1,300% increase in assaults against our officers.” This response avoids engagement with specific allegations, including Leonardo Sánchez’s account that ICE officers forced him and three other deportees onto a tarmac in Liberia, twisted their handcuffs, pinned them to the ground and pressed knees onto their necks.

Carlos Téllez-Sanchez told the Times, “They didn’t treat us like people, like human beings. They can say or do anything to you and there’s nothing you can do.” Other deportees said ICE officials denied medical care to pregnant women and housed detainees where up to 50 people shared one toilet.

When the enforcer becomes the threat

The deaths of Good, Pretti and Martinez raise fundamental questions about who immigration enforcement operates for and what accountability exists when agents kill American citizens. The Trump administration has struck deportation deals with at least 35 countries, sending migrants to nations where they have no connections. The administration deported Venezuelan migrants to Liberia despite them having no ties to the African nation. Meanwhile, DHS officials claim death threats against officers are up 8,000 percent, with assaults up 1,300 percent. But when the Times sought comment from across the administration about the claims of deportees, the department responded with denial rather than investigation.

The Times defended its reporting, stating its four journalists “rigorously reported it” by interviewing 10 people and obtaining corroborating information. As these cases mount and the denials continue, the American public must recognize that unchecked power in immigration enforcement threatens not only non-citizens but the constitutional rights of every person on American soil.

Sources include:

TheHill.com

NYTimes.com

Wikipedia.org

WSJ.com

X.com