Survey respondents also strongly disapproved of media coverage and said they had very low levels of trust for Minnesota state and local law enforcement.
Across America, opponents of President Donald Trump’s illegal-immigration crackdown have harassed, assaulted, and impeded U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers as they make arrests.
One such confrontation turned deadly in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 7.
Renee Nicole Good, 35, is believed to be the first fatality in clashes between protesters and ICE since the Trump administration began the enforcement wave a year ago. Federal officials said that Good weaponized her SUV against an ICE agent who then opened fire in self-defense.
As Good’s death sparked a national conversation over officers’ use of force, The Epoch Times asked its readers for their opinions about ICE enforcement in Minnesota.
An overwhelming percentage of readers said available information convinced them the ICE officer acted appropriately in the shooting.
In a survey conducted Jan. 14–15, a combined 93 percent of readers said they agree “very much” or “somewhat” that the use of force against Good was justified; 92 percent said they trust federal law enforcement operations in Minnesota in general.
Similarly, 93 percent of readers said they “strongly approve” of Justice Department warnings against protesters interfering with immigration enforcement operations.
In addition, 82 percent of the respondents said they “strongly approve” of sending additional federal agents to Minnesota following the fatal shooting.
Meanwhile, readers expressed lower levels of confidence in officials’ initial statements about the shooting of Good—with 38 percent placing “very much” trust in those statements and 29 percent saying the statements were “somewhat” trustworthy—for a combined total of 67 percent of readers trusting the statements.
By Janice Hisle
