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A MidWestern transgender woman trying to survive in the real life.

Month: January 2026

ICE Is Getting Away With Murder

By

On January 28, 2026

In civil rights, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Los Angeles, CA – January 24: A sign is raised in support of Renee Good and Alex Pretti at a candle light vigil during a peaceful protest in support of a 37-year-old man shot and killed by immigration officers in Minneapolis was under way Saturday evening along Olvera Street in Los Angeles. Demonstrators gathered at the historic Placita Olvera marketplace on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026 in Los Angeles, CA. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

The fatal shootings of Renee Nicole Macklin Good on January 7, 2026 and Alex Jeffrey Pretti on January 24, 2026 by federal immigration enforcement officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota are not isolated tragedies; they are stark indicators of an enforcement paradigm that is failing to protect public safety, eroding civil liberties, and operating with alarming impunity. Good, a 37-year-old mother, was killed by an ICE agent during an immigration enforcement operation earlier this month, prompting widespread protests and demands for accountability (CBS News, 2026). Weeks later, Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse and U.S. citizen, was fatally shot by federal agents while documenting and intervening in the enforcement activity; his death significantly intensified local and national outrage (ABC News, 2026).

These killings have unfolded amid “Operation Metro Surge,” a large-scale federal immigration enforcement initiative deploying ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents to Minneapolis and surrounding communities. The presence of thousands of armed federal agents in contexts far from the U.S. border has coincided with at least two fatal shootings of civilians in the span of weeks, incidents that have drawn protest, political backlash, and legal scrutiny (CBS News, 2026; ABC News, 2026). In the case of Pretti, footage and official preliminary reports indicate that two federal agents discharged their firearms during an encounter with Pretti, even as eyewitness accounts and bystander video challenge the notion that he posed an imminent threat (Star Tribune, 2026; ABC News, 2026).

The responses to these shootings reveal deep tension between federal agencies and local communities. Good’s family publicly denounced Pretti’s killing as “terrifying, deeply disturbing, and heartbreaking,” and called for a cessation of ICE activities, asserting that official accounts mischaracterized the circumstances of his death (People, 2026). Meanwhile, protests in Minneapolis and other cities have grown in size and intensity, with demonstrators expressing outrage not only over the deaths themselves but over the broader militarized approach federal immigration enforcement has adopted (El País, 2026; ABC News, 2026).

Federal officials have at times defended the actions of agents, framing them as lawful enforcement measures. Yet political pushback has emerged across the spectrum: senior legislators are seeking Justice Department records on both Pretti’s and Good’s killings, while even some Republican lawmakers have called for independent investigations and questioned the federal narrative (CBS News, 2026; Washington Post, 2026). These developments underscore that the core issues extend beyond partisan disagreement to fundamental questions about the role and accountability of ICE, CBP, and related agencies.

The argument for withdrawing ICE from Minneapolis and similar urban environments is compelling when one considers the lethal outcomes that have accompanied its operations, the erosion of public trust, and the disruption of civic life. Deploying armed federal agents into densely populated cities has resulted in confrontations with residents, journalists, and peaceful observers — encounters that should never escalate to loss of life in contexts unrelated to border security. The deaths of Good and Pretti, both U.S. citizens killed in broad daylight, demonstrate the high cost of maintaining such a deployment without robust accountability, transparent oversight, and clear limits on the use of force.

Moreover, these killings raise broader questions about the continued existence of ICE as an enforcement agency. When an agency tasked with upholding immigration laws repeatedly engages in operations that endanger the lives of citizens and long-term residents, it is reasonable to question whether reformation within the current institutional framework is sufficient. Critics and activists increasingly argue that ICE’s mandate — and the violence inherent in its domestic deployment — cannot be reconciled with the values of safety, justice, and civil liberties. For many, this leads to the conclusion that ICE should be abolished, and its functions reassigned to civilian agencies with clear lines of accountability and strong protections for human rights.

The tragic deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti are more than isolated headlines; they are a test of democratic norms and the limits of federal power. Their loss compels us to confront the consequences of allowing an immigration enforcement apparatus to operate in U.S. cities with insufficient oversight, minimal transparency, and a penchant for militarized tactics. For the safety of communities and the integrity of constitutional rights, wise leaders should support an immediate withdrawal of ICE from Minneapolis and initiate a broader conversation about dismantling an agency whose operations have culminated in the deaths of innocent Americans.

References 

ABC News. (2026, January 27). Minneapolis live updates: Stephen Miller says CBP may not have followed protocol. https://abcnews.go.com/US/live-updates/minneapolis-ice-shooting-live-updates-doj-investigating-apparent?id=129340693

CBS News. (2026, January 27). Key legislators seek Justice Department records on Alex Pretti and Renee Good killings by next week. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/key-legislators-seek-doj-records-on-alex-pretti-and-renee-good-killings-by-next-week/

El País. (2026, January 26). Minneapolis clama contra la “impunidad” de la policía migratoria que mató a Alex Pretti. https://elpais.com/us/migracion/2026-01-26/minneapolis-clama-contra-la-impunidad-de-la-policia-migratoria-que-mato-a-alex-pretti.html

People. (2026, January 26). Renee Good’s family reacts to Alex Pretti’s “deeply disturbing” death: “We urge all Americans to trust their own eyes”. https://people.com/renee-good-family-reacts-to-alex-pretti-death-11892182

Star Tribune. (2026, January 28). Minneapolis Border Patrol shooting: What to know about investigations, protests and immigration operations. https://www.startribune.com/ice-raids-minnesota/601546426

Washington Post. (2026, January 27). GOP backlash on Minnesota signals a tougher landscape for Trump. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/01/27/pretti-shooting-trump-minneapolis-republicans/

Regime Change Is Not Lawful—It’s Plunder

By

On January 3, 2026

In international law

KRAKOW, POLAND JANUARY 3:
A woman watches ABC News Live as U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine explains details of a U.S. special military operation in Venezuela, with President Donald Trump present, in Krakow, Poland, January 3, 2026. (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

What is being reported today—that the United States military removed Nicolás Maduro, the sitting president of Venezuela, under the direction of Donald Trump—should be treated as a constitutional, legal, and moral emergency rather than a triumph. Even setting aside one’s opinion of Maduro or the failures of his government, the use of unilateral military force to depose a head of state is plainly illegal under international law. This is not a gray area. It is precisely the sort of conduct the modern international legal system was created to prohibit.

The cornerstone of international law since 1945 is the prohibition on the use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of another state. Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter bars such actions outright, allowing only two narrow exceptions: self-defense against an armed attack or action authorized by the UN Security Council (United Nations, 1945). No credible public evidence suggests that Venezuela launched an armed attack against the United States, nor has there been any Security Council authorization permitting regime removal. Absent either condition, military intervention for the purpose of removing a government constitutes unlawful aggression under international law (Brownlie, 1963; United Nations, 1970).

Attempts to justify such an action by invoking “self-defense,” “counter-narcotics,” or “restoring democracy” do not survive serious legal scrutiny. International law does not permit a state to overthrow another government because it is authoritarian, corrupt, or hostile to foreign economic interests. The UN General Assembly has repeatedly affirmed that no state has the right to intervene, directly or indirectly, in the internal affairs of another, regardless of motive (United Nations General Assembly, 1970). This principle exists precisely because powerful states have historically cloaked invasions in moral language while pursuing strategic and economic gains.

Seen through that lens, this intervention reads less like a defense of democracy and more like a textbook exercise in plutocratic power. Venezuela possesses some of the largest proven oil reserves in the world, and U.S. policy toward the country for decades has revolved around control, access, and leverage over those resources (Mommer, 2002). When military force is paired with rhetoric about “stabilizing” oil production, reopening markets, or placing foreign companies in a position to manage extraction, the intent becomes difficult to deny. This is not about liberating Venezuelans; it is about aligning state violence with corporate interests, particularly those of multinational energy companies that stand to benefit from regime change.

International law directly rejects this logic. The principle of permanent sovereignty over natural resources affirms that a people’s land, minerals, and energy reserves belong to them alone and must be used for their national development, not appropriated through coercion or foreign occupation (United Nations General Assembly, 1962). That right does not evaporate because a foreign power disapproves of how a country governs itself or wishes to restructure its economy. To claim otherwise is to revive colonial doctrines that the postwar legal order explicitly sought to bury.

What makes this moment especially dangerous is the precedent it sets. If the United States can openly remove a foreign leader by force and then claim legal justification after the fact, the entire prohibition on aggressive war becomes performative rather than binding. Other powers will follow the same script, citing security concerns, economic stability, or humanitarian necessity as cover. The result is not a safer world, but a return to a system where might makes right and international law exists only to discipline the weak.

The Venezuelan people have the exclusive right to determine their political future and to decide how their resources are used. That process may be flawed, painful, and slow, but it cannot be replaced by foreign troops and oil contracts without shredding the legal norms that protect all states, large and small. If international law means anything at all, it means that regime change by force—especially when tied to resource extraction—is illegal, illegitimate, and profoundly destabilizing.

References

Brownlie, I. (1963). International law and the use of force by states. Oxford University Press.

Mommer, B. (2002). Global oil and the nation state. Oxford University Press.

United Nations. (1945). Charter of the United Nations. https://www.un.org/en/about-us/un-charter

United Nations General Assembly. (1962). Permanent sovereignty over natural resources (Resolution 1803 (XVII)).

United Nations General Assembly. (1970). Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States (Resolution 2625 (XXV)).

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