I’ve had a home on the island for fifteen years and moved here permanently last year. A couple Saturday’s ago was my first vigil and I was moved by my fellow islanders’ willingness to stand up and speak out. It’s crucial for all of us to stop being bystanders.

We have learned recently that in their haste to execute Trump’s campaign goals of mass deportations, the Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and her managers at ICE and Border Patrol (BP) have lowered their hiring standards and shortened their training programs from thirteen to six weeks.

Since this change was announced in October, problems have included hiring people who had positive drug tests, failed to meet physical fitness and education requirements, or who had criminal histories that were missed due to inadequate background checks.

I speak from experience. For almost two decades, I worked in federal law enforcement, serving five Presidents, Republicans and Democrats. I was an Assistant U.S. Attorney from 1974 to 1984 prosecuting criminal cases, and then I was the United States Attorney for the District of Oregon from 1994 to 2001.

I also was on the faculty at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Georgia and taught criminal law at two law schools. So I can say with some authority that this combination of lower standards and less training is a recipe for disaster.

Indeed, it has proved deadly. Since June, federal immigration agents have shot at people 16 times, incidents that have resulted in four deaths and at least seven injuries, according to data compiled by The Trace and reported by news outlets. In 2025, the Department of Homeland Security said ICE grew from about 10,000 employees to about 22,000, advertising incentives that included signing bonuses of up to $50,000 and student-loan repayment. Their recruitment messages are chilling, echoing violent video games and white supremacist themes.

This huge increase in personnel was coupled with an ominous new directive issued in December, weeks before the killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis. ICE officials warned agents to be prepared to take “decisive action should you be faced with an imminent threat.”

While Jonathan Ross, the ICE agent who killed the Minneapolis victim, was not a new hire and had some training, Ross’ “specialized skills” that DHS cites are breaching techniques, perimeter control, hostage rescue and firearms. No mention of guidance about when to step down, but plenty of focus on gun proficiency. In other words, he knew exactly what he was doing when he aimed to kill.

The kind of callousness that can pervade the ranks of ICE and BP occurred last October in Chicago. BP Agent Charles Exum (a 20-year veteran of the agency) rammed Marimar Martinez’s car and shot her five times. She survived and was charged with assaulting him. In the aftermath, Exum bragged to his fellow officers: “I fired five rounds and she had seven holes. Put that in your book boys.” He wouldn’t have sent that text if he didn’t believe it would be well-received.

There are extensive “use of force” rules that have been in place for decades. Many involve prohibiting officers from shooting at a moving vehicle because of the risk to bystanders by stray bullets or a disabled driver losing control and injuring others. Generally, the only exceptions are when the driver poses an imminent threat of deadly force beyond the vehicle itself or when there is no opportunity to escape an oncoming vehicle. Neither of these exceptions applies in the Minneapolis case. The International Association of Chiefs of Police has endorsed this policy, and it has been incorporated into federal law enforcement manuals over the years.

Among other federal law enforcement leaders, ICE agents have a reputation as “trigger happy cowboys”, rogues, not professionals. Kristi Noem showed up in an oversized cowboy hat for her press conference where she denounced — without evidence — ICE’s latest victim as a “domestic terrorist.” It shocks the conscience that she was willing to condemn the victim without even the most basic investigation, despite videos of the incident which should have been red flags.

She was probably trying to please the President who — moments after the killing — declared that the victim had “viciously, wilfully and violently run over” an officer and later labeled her a “professional agitator.” Many independent and expert analyses have since concluded that the victim was trying to avoid the armed advancing agents. Her hands were visible at all times; her tires were pointed away from the agents; there was no imminent threat. Renee Good ran over no one but was shot dead at close range.

After a cursory check to satisfy himself that his target was mortally injured, Ross (apparently uninjured himself immediately strode to his unmarked vehicle and left, showing no concern for the integrity of the crime scene.

Law enforcement agents have expressed shame and anger at the conduct of ICE agents. It overshadows the pride my former colleagues have in their profession and deters young people from seeking to enter the field. Menacing with weapons and reaching into private vehicles without cause is not law enforcement, it’s thuggery. No wonder ICE and BP agents wear masks and hide their badges.

While the Supreme Court may have granted Donald Trump immunity for his criminal actions while in office, that immunity does not extend to his minions. And while Vice President JD Vance may think that the involved ICE agent has “absolute immunity,” he is flat wrong. The Hennepin County prosecutor’s office has appropriately asserted jurisdiction.

Agent Ross can and should be independently investigated and prosecuted if the facts warrant it. Instead, on DOJ orders the FBI is refusing to share information with the local authorities. To add insult to injury, DOJ is pushing to investigate the victim’s widow. Six career federal prosecutors in Minneapolis have resigned in protest.

In an attempt to stifle criticism, Kristi Noem issued a statement warning that “rhetoric about ICE has consequences.” We cannot allow ourselves to be intimidated into silence by her threat. Noem, not Good, is the true “domestic terrorist.”

Kris Olson is an islander and former U.S. attorney.