Federal immigration agents have shot at vehicles in at least 10 incidents

Over the last four months, federal agents who are part of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown have fired at vehicles at least 10 times, with incidents reported in Maryland, Chicago, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Minneapolis and Portland. The confrontations have left at least two people dead.

A day after a federal immigration agent shot and killed a woman in her vehicle in Minneapolis, agents in Portland said they shot a man and a woman in their car during a “vehicle stop.” The Department of Homeland Security said the driver in Portland had tried to run the agents over.

Federal officials have defended the shootings as justified because the vehicles had been “weaponized,” and the Justice Department says agents may fire at a car only in two circumstances: if the person in the car is threatening officers or others with “deadly force by means other than the vehicle,” or if the driver is operating the vehicle in a way that threatens serious injury or death.

Questions remain about whether drivers posed a grave threat in some cases. A Times analysis of video from Minneapolis raised doubts about the official account, and an expert who reviewed the footage said the woman appeared to be turning the car away. Advocates and policing groups note that many major cities bar officers from shooting at moving vehicles except in rare circumstances, and the Police Executive Research Forum has warned that firing at moving vehicles is often ineffective and risks hitting bystanders.

Key Topics

Politics, Homeland Security, Justice Department, Trump Administration, Minneapolis, Portland