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At least 12 people have been shot by immigration agents in the United States since September, amid an increase in deportation operations driven by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under President Donald Trump's administration.
According to a report by NBC News, among the victims are four deceased individuals and several American citizens, according to the report, which details a series of incidents that occurred at various locations across the country.
In most cases, the shootings occurred when officers opened fire on moving vehicles, a practice that security and use-of-force experts have sought to limit for decades due to its high risk.
The most recent case occurred on January 24 in Minneapolis, when a federal agent shot and killed Alex Pretti, 37 years old, just weeks after another shooting in the same city where Renee Good was killed, also an American citizen.
Jim Bueermann, former police chief in Redlands, California, and current president of the Future Policing Institute, told NBC News that the events reflect a troubling trend.
"They are not isolated cases. This is clearly becoming a pattern and a practice in the way immigration laws are applied, and that is the most alarming aspect," he stated.
Federal authorities, however, defended the actions of the agents. The DHS Undersecretary, Tricia McLaughlin, stated that the officers "feared for their lives" and that several of them were injured in various incidents.
"The pattern is not the use of lethal force by the police, but rather the use of vehicles as weapons by violent agitators," he stated.
“Dangerous criminals—whether they are illegal immigrants or U.S. citizens—are attacking law enforcement and using their cars to ram into them,” he added.
Despite the official justification, specialists cited by NBC News warned that federal agents appear to be ignoring safety standards and de-escalation protocols that have been applied in most police departments across the country since the 1990s.
Chris Burbank, former police chief in Salt Lake City and consultant for the Department of Justice, recalled that for over two decades, law enforcement agencies have been working to reduce shootings against drivers, as many cases of unnecessary deaths occurred due to unfounded fears of being run over.
"It doesn't seem like there is much training or accountability," he noted.
"It gives the impression that agents receive the message of 'do your job at all costs,' and that undermines the ability to de-escalate conflicts," he said.
The incidents documented by NBC News include cases in Illinois, California, Texas, Arizona, Maryland, Oregon, and Minnesota, and demonstrate a pattern of aggressive operations by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and CBP (Customs and Border Protection) agents.
In several of the shootings, the officers stated that the drivers attempted to flee or ram their vehicles.
The DHS maintains that every use of force and every firearm discharge must be reported and reviewed internally, and that investigations are carried out by "an appropriate security agency."
However, the department has not disclosed the results of any of the recent cases nor confirmed whether the agents involved were sanctioned or removed from their duties.
The FBI has been involved in some of the investigations, but it has declined to provide public details.
In the most recent case, the death of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, the federal agency announced that the DHS will lead the investigation, a decision that —according to sources cited by NBC News— breaks the usual protocol, as the Federal Bureau of Investigation typically takes the lead when a DHS agent uses lethal force.
Meanwhile, the increasing number of shootings has raised concern among civil rights groups and citizens who document immigration operations on social media.
In several videos, federal agents can be seen wearing hoods and without visible identification making arrests in residential areas and firing at vehicles during the operations.
For experts, the situation marks a turning point in the enforcement of immigration laws in the U.S., where the militarization of raids and a lack of transparency threaten to normalize the use of lethal force even against U.S. citizens.
"This is not an exception; it is an expanding policy," Bueermann concluded. "And what is most severe is that it happens in communities that already fear the authorities, which further erodes public trust in justice."
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