As federal immigration enforcement faces heightened scrutiny following a fatal shooting in Minneapolis, the acting head of ICE’s Dallas field office is explaining why some agents wear masks during operations.
The comment came after an ICE officer shot and killed a woman during an immigration operation in Minneapolis on Wednesday, according to reports from The Associated Press.
Related
Robert Cerna, acting director of the Dallas office, addressed the issue during an interview on CBS Evening News, saying masks are used to protect agents from being identified and targeted.
Breaking News
“They wear a mask for their protection, and it’s not really just their protection, but the protection of their family,” Cerna told CBS correspondent Tony Dokoupil. He added that officers must protect themselves “from being doxed” and from “people harassing them because of what they’re doing.”
The remarks come amid growing public attention on ICE enforcement tactics nationwide.
Related
The woman fatally shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis was Renee Nicole Macklin Good, a 37- year- old who died from gunshot wounds to the head, according to authorities.
Her killing Wednesday sparked a dispute between federal officials, who say the shooting was an act of self-defense, and Minneapolis officials, who have challenged that account, according to the Associated Press.
On social media, Macklin Good described herself as a “poet and writer and wife and mom” from Colorado. Public records show she had recently lived in Kansas City, Missouri, where she helped start a business last year called B Good Handywork.
Related
Protests in Minneapolis have drawn hundreds of demonstrators calling for answers following the shooting, according to the Associated Press.
Authorities say ICE agents were conducting an immigration-related operation when the woman was killed. The incident remains under investigation.
Additional protests are planned beyond Minnesota. A demonstration is scheduled for Thursday in Dallas, where organizers say they plan to gather outside City Hall to protest ICE enforcement actions and demand greater oversight.
The intensified enforcement comes as the Trump administration has directed federal immigration officials to expand deportations and prioritize removals from major U.S. cities as part of a broader push to ramp up immigration arrests nationwide, according to Associated Press reporting.