Top ICE official is asked whether Americans can trust investigation into Renee Good's killing
Top Immigration and Customs Enforcement official Marcos Charles is pushing back against people who say they don't trust the federal investigation into the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Minneapolis resident Renee Good.
"The rhetoric that's coming out from a lot of our politicians is to not trust us, which is very odd to me, when a lot of Americans would rather believe what they see on TikTok compared to a government agency," Charles said.
State investigators were blocked from participating in the investigation into the shooting, and sources told CBS News several top federal prosecutors in Minnesota resigned, in part, because they were told to investigate the actions of Good and her wife, rather than ICE officer Jonathan Ross.
Charles defends ICE actions in Minneapolis
The Minneapolis area has been flooded by ICE and Border Patrol agents as part of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. Operation Metro Surge, the largest deployment of federal immigration officers in the Department of Homeland Security's history, has sparked tense standoffs with protesters.
ICE officers are conducting "targeted enforcement looking for the worst of the worst," Charles said. But he added that, "if they encounter anybody in the area of which they're operating, they are OK to talk to those people. They've been authorized to talk to anybody that's around there and establish citizenship."
60 Minutes correspondent Cecilia Vega pressed Charles on how ICE officers decide who to question and whether everyone in Minneapolis is, in effect, under suspicion.
"Nobody's under suspicion, but we're looking for those targets. And, again, if we walk, encounter somebody, as we're walking up to a building, as we're en route to that building, that's still part of the operation as they proceed to that target," Charles said.
Federal immigration agents have stopped people on the streets, including some American citizens, and demanded proof of citizenship. Some American citizens have also been detained by ICE. Vega asked Charles if he was bothered by that.
"I'm bothered by seeing people take action against my officers, using vehicles to try to ram them, assaulting my officers," he said. "Our officers are humans, you know. They're people."
Immunity for ICE officers?
According to DHS, attacks on ICE officers jumped from 19 in 2024 to 275 last year.
"If you assault one of our officers, and assault would be putting hands on one of my officers, spitting in their face, pushing them, you're going to get arrested," Charles said.
This past week, DHS posted a message from White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller telling ICE agents, "You have federal immunity in the conduct of your duties."
Vega asked Charles if that meant immigration agents could carry out immigration enforcement without any accountability or consequences.
"I'm not going to comment on Mr. Miller's statement as far as in the context that you're asking," Charles said. "However, I will tell you, everywhere we go in the United States, our officers are out there conducting enforcement actions, and they're doing it lawfully and with professionalism."
