Noem urges Americans to carry proof of citizenship as ICE raids intensify

WASHINGTON (TNND) — Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) might ask Americans for proof of citizenship during enforcement operations.

“In every situation, we’re doing targeted enforcement. If we are on a target and doing an operation, there may be individuals surrounding that criminal that we may be asking who they are and why they’re there and having them validate their identity,” Noem said during a news conference outside the White House on Thursday.

“That’s what we’ve always done in asking people who they are so that we know who’s in those surroundings,” she added.

Noem was responding to a question posed by a reporter, who wanted to know why people were asked to provide proof of citizenship in Minnesota.

The news comes a little more than a week after an ICE agent shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good during a federal immigration enforcement raid in Minneapolis on January 7. Her death has sparked protests throughout the area and beyond.

The agent, who has been identified as Jonathan Ross, fired his gun after Good allegedly tried to ram him and other officers with her SUV. Ross reportedly suffered internal bleeding when he was hit by her vehicle.

The Trump administration said Good was an agitator, with Vice President JD Vance saying the agent acted in self-defense.

In a separate case, a federal officer shot an illegal migrant in the leg on Wednesday night in Minnesota after being attacked with an object described as a shovel or a broom during an arrest.

DHS later identified the suspects in connection to the case as Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, a criminal illegal migrant from Venezuela, who was previously convicted for driving without a license and arrested for two counts of giving a false name to a police officer.

The other two individuals involved were identified as Alfredo Alejandro Ajorna and Gabriel Alejandro Hernandez-Ledezma.

In a social media post on Friday, Noem praised President Donald Trump, saying U.S. borders “are safer than any time in our nation’s history” thanks to his crackdown on illegal immigration.

“What President [Donald] Trump and our CBP agents and officers have been able to do in a single year is nothing short of extraordinary,” she wrote.

“Once again, we have a record low number of encounters at the border and the 8th straight month of zero releases,” she added. “Month after month, we are delivering results that were once thought impossible: the most secure border in history and unmatched enforcement successes.”

Good’s family released a statement earlier this week to honor her life, as well as their love for her. They also thanked the public for an outpouring of support.

“We want to thank everyone who has reached out in support of Renee and our family,” Good’s parents, Tim and Donna Ganger, along with her four siblings, said in the statement. “The kind of unending care we’ve been given during this time is exactly the kind that she gave to everyone.”