Monday, January 26, 2026
-Bill Crane-
Thankfully warm, dry and at home this weekend as a winter storm threatened trees, limbs and power lines across much of our nation. At least in our neck of the woods, the ice was real and the bridges and roads were a bit treacherous, particularly at night, and after the re-freeze, but the worst of this appears already behind us, and though millions were inconvenienced, and some lost power or income from their temporarily closed business…this too will pass.
It is the other ICE which currently commands my attention and concern for our country. I support our nation having real and secure borders. Not a huge fan of the wall at our southern border, but the combination of the visual, increased enforcement and greater cooperation with Mexico have all made a significant difference in the volume and severity of illegal border crossings during the past year.
At the same time President Donald J. Trump has hiked tariffs (which are a huge part of Customs and Trade), he was able to convince our U.S. Congress to invest billions in thousands of new agents for the Immigrations & Customs Enforcement division of Homeland Security. The training window has been light and tight, and some of the hiring practices are being questioned.
Agency Built Out Overnight Is Not New –
When the administration of George W. Bush almost overnight built out the Transportation Security Agency (TSA), there were similar offers of higher salaries and less field time which were found attractive by agents of the ATF as well as state and local law enforcement officers. However word is emerging that many of these new ICE agents did not come to this work from other law enforcement agencies. Extensive and ongoing training is a critical component of successful law enforcement.
I am a lifetime supporter of our men and women in uniform, as well as our first responders. Since its founding, my firm has done business with the Georgia Sheriffs Association and many of its outstanding individual members, serving their communities as chief law enforcement officers for decades. Working with numerous municipalities in more recent years, we have regularly assisted and supported local police, fire and EMT personnel as well. What we are seeing from many of these ICE agents, in Minneapolis and likely soon elsewhere is not that work which begins with do no harm and is followed by ‘To serve and protect.’
Ostensibly President Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, have deployed this non-uniformed army of ICE agents to protect the public and to identify, detain and deport illegal aliens of all stripes, and though some see success in their round up numbers, in their tactics and raids on schools, workplaces and neighborhoods, wearing masks, no uniforms or badges visible and illogically not coordinating their efforts with local and state law enforcement, I increasingly see a Secret Police Force.
Remove the drug dealers, the sex traffickers, those wanted or imprisoned in their home countries, take those who have been charged, arrested or are already in prison here for crimes against U.S. citizens. But please explain to me the dangers posed by a 5-year old, or most recently a V.A. Intensive Care Unit nurse…
Where are the Badges and ANY Uniforms?
Photo of ICE Protests at the University of Minnesota, protesting the detention of a U of M student, courtesy of Minnesota Public Radio
Now twice is just over two weeks, packs of ICE agents, looking more like the thugs or paramilitary forces we face from the drug cartels, are dragging American citizens in the street, or attempting to detain their departure from a fast de-stabilizing scene, and instead of being handcuffed or arrested for protest or even obstruction of a federal law enforcement officer, they are simply shot dead.
Yes, please protect the Laken Rileys, but how do we do that by simply executing their potential neighbors?
The video from phones and multiple observers at both scenes paint a clear picture of chaotic procedures, no badges, no Miranda Rights, no warnings…just scuffles and opening fire. In the more recent case, when discharging multiple rounds at both the victim and the road bed, the officer was even endangering his fellow agents. We will assume that they were wearing some Kevlar and body armour underneath all those layers, while the deceased and unarmed citizens nearby were not. The dangers of richocheting bullets alone should have reduced the number of rounds fired.
I am not too old to be unaware of the shootings at Kent State on May 4, 1970. Kentucky-based National Guardsmen opened fire on advancing and protesting students at Kent State University. The protesters were vocal in their opposition to the draft as well as the Vietnam War. Four students were killed, nine more were wounded. All were unarmed. Richard Nixon was President, the war was increasingly unpopular at home and yet there was never any investigation to determine which Guardsmen fired those fatal shots.
Pretti and Good Should NOT Be Deceased
At least at this point it does not appear to be in question as to which agents shot and killed Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a man described by the Police Chief of Minneapolis as an ICU nurse, American citizen and as having no criminal record. Rebecca Good, also a 37-year old U.S. citizen, was shot while attempting to slowly drive her car out and away from an ICE raid in her neighborhood, apparently killed for having a mouthy spouse. If that is a capital offense our entire nation may soon be under siege.
Yes, protect and secure our borders…no do not destroy the fabric of our communities and begin gunning down citizens who simply question your tactics as you do that. Actual deportation statistics of the Obama and Bush administration are significantly higher than so far under Trump, though this President and an aggressive ICE team have deported more than one-million in just over one year. But at what cost?
Is it worth protecting the jogging college student by placing fear in the hearts of regular citizens and creating an image for the ICE agents little better than the thugs they are purportedly working to deport? I am not casting this net over all ICE agents. My uncle was in the National Guard at the time of the Kent State shootings… But a REAL investigation should be immediately underway, as would happen with a police involved shooting. There is justified use of deadly force, when and where the threat of imminent violence or death is real.
I am not a professional at assessing those situations, but after closely reviewing what is in the public domain of the last few moments of life for Rebecca Good and Alex Jeffrey Pretti, that judgement call does not even appear close.
Investigation Is Needed Now –
Homeland Security Director Kristi Noem, also the former Governor of South Dakota, should resign her Cabinet post. She is not only abrogating her responsibility to protect American citizens, she is making statements and asserting ‘facts’ which clearly do not exist and which did not occur at the crime scenes. I cannot recall a previous Police Chief, F.B.I. Special Agent in Charge (SAC), ATF, DEA or even prior ICE or CIA section chief so loudly proclaiming the actions on the ground of a situation where they were simultaneously hundreds of miles away.
There is a time for having the back of your officers and personnel, but when things are so apparently being mishandled and lives are not only at risk but have been taken…it is time to pause, reset, perhaps pull back and to allow crime scene professionals to assess what actually took place and why.
This Homeland does not feel entirely secure. It appears instead to be increasingly chilling. I hope that we don’t wait until the ICE invasion of the next major American city and a similar unprecedented loss of life to take action. Congress…where are you? Cowering under a bullet proof blanket?
