Kristi Noem touts NYC arrests, defends ICE fatal shooting of Rene Nicole Good in Minneapolis
Published in News & Features
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visited New York Thursday to promote the success of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement gang takedown operation as hundreds protested ICE’s caught-on-camera killing of a protester in Minneapolis.
More than 200 people rallied outside of One World Trade Center, where Noem was cheering the success of “Operation Salvo,” which she announced led to the arrest of 54 Trinitarios gang members.
The operation was launched in response to the shooting of an off-duty Customs and Border Patrol officer in Fort Washington Park in upper Manhattan last summer.
Demonstrators outside One Wolrd Trade Center blasted ICE for gunning down Renee Nicole Good, who was shot in her SUV as she blocked agents with her vehicle on a snow-swept street in Minneapolis on Wednesday.
“Justice for Renee Nicole Good!” protesters chanted as they held signs reading “Immigrants are New York,” “ICE out of NYC,” and “Kristi Noem is queen goon in this murderous regime!”
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, a staunch critic of ICE’s policies who had been arrested at recent protests against the federal agency, tried to get into Noem’s press conference but was barred entry.
Noem doubled down Thursday on her claims that Good’s actions were “domestic terrorism” and said protesters had been trailing, harassing and blocking ICE agents all morning before the fatal confrontation.
The harassment was “ongoing” throughout the morning, said Noem, who declined to get into specifics.
The ICE agent who shot Good, Noem said, “was an experienced officer who severed a number of years (with ICE) and acted according to his training and review and acted appropriately to protect his life and the life of his colleagues in law enforcement.”
The agent, who Noem said was “hit by the vehicle” and was taken to the hospital, was with his family as an investigation into the shooting continued, she said.
“We have to let the investigation unfold in use of force cases like these and the events that surrounded it,” she said, adding that “Minnesota is a train wreck” and that local elected officials there, which includes Gov. Tim Walz, “allowed” the clash that ended Good’s life.
“(They’re) allowing violence to go on in the streets,” she said.
Good’s death was recorded by onlookers from different angles. The videos show that her SUV was moving slowly and her wheels were turning away from the ICE agents, critics said. One video seems to show her SUV may have clipped the ICE agents but video from other angles casts doubt on whether her vehicle made contact with him.
Hundreds of New Yorkers protested the killing Wednesday night at Foley Square. No arrests were made.
Noem took a swipe at Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Thursday. While she at first said she hoped that Mamdani would work with ICE, she then said the newly sworn-in mayor would “stand with illegal people before he put New York City citizens first.”
Noem was responding to a statement Mamdani made on X, slamming ICE’s killing of Good, claiming she was “murdered.”
“(This is) only the latest horror in a year full of cruelty,” Mamdani wrote. “As ICE attacks our neighbors across America, it is an attack on us all.”
“New York stands with immigrants today, and every day that follows,” he added.
“Instead of choosing to protect people who had the opportunity to vote for him and live in this city and pay their taxes, he chooses to stand with illegals rather than people who raise their families and live the American dream,” Noem said.
The secretary spent most of the press conference praising the success of “Operation Salvo,” which was sparked by the July 19 shooting of the off-duty CBP agent.
Cops quickly arrested Miguel Francisco Mora Nunez, 21, and Christhian Aybar-Berroa, 22, for the shooting. The two, who are allegedly affiliated with the Trinitarios street gang, are currently facing both federal and state criminal charges, including attempted murder and assault.
“During our investigation, we learned that these scumbags were part of the trans-national Trinitarios gang and recognized that they needed to be brought to justice,” Noem said.
The feds quickly launched “Operation Salvo” in response to the shooting, where they targeted and arrested 54 undocumented immigrants affiliated with the notorious street gang with ties to the Dominican Republic.
About 30 of the 54 people swept up in Operation Salvo have been deported, Noem said. Their connections to the street gang varied from being affiliated to being linked to known gang members through surveillance and phone records, federal officials said.
All of those targeted were undocumented, had criminal records or pending criminal cases, federal officials said.
Noem and ICE officials said New York’s sanctuary city laws and state bail reform policies allowed Nunez, Aybar-Berroa and other Trinitarios affiliates back on the streets after repeated arrests.
The secretary encouraged Mamdani “to bring everyone together and work with ICE to bring criminals to justice.”
“Policies and rhetoric (about ICE operations) have divided people and pitted them against each other,” Noem said.
The New York Civil Liberties Union refuted Noem’s statements about sanctuary city laws.
“To Kristi Noem and your ICE goons: Your agency is dangerous, cruel, inept, and lawless, and has no place on our streets. Nothing makes that clearer than the blood you shed in Minneapolis yesterday,” NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman said. “Contrary to your spin, the facts are that New York’s longstanding, bipartisan sanctuary laws have made our city safer, fueled our economy, strengthened our communities, and made it easier for people to access vital services that support public safety.
“It’s also that fact that bail reform has advanced justice for thousands of New Yorkers without raising crime levels, which are at historic lows,” she said. “It is ICE that is daily undermining public safety.”
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