Why is ICE in Minneapolis? What we know after woman fatally shot.

Federal immigration agents surged into Minneapolis in the days before one fatally shot a protester, Renee Nicole Good, in her car on Jan. 7.

The Trump administration has flooded agents into other cities across the country to ramp up immigration enforcement. In Minneapolis, the administration also tied the surge to an ongoing federal fraud investigation, which included a number of people in the region's Somali-American community, the vast majority of whom are naturalized citizens or U.S. born.

Renee Nicole Good, 37, was killed when video showed an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent firing into her car on a Minneapolis street. President Donald Trump and members of his administration have said the shooting was an act of self-defense by the agent, while local leaders and critics said the video disputes that account.

"They are already trying to spin this as an action of self defense," Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said at a news conference on Jan. 7. "Having seen the video myself I want to tell everybody directly, that is bull----."

Minneapolis is the latest city to see an increase in enforcement actions on illegal immigration, with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Director Todd Lyons describing the operation in Minnesota in an interview with Newsmax as "the largest immigration operation ever."

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to an inquiry from USA TODAY on Jan. 8 about why immigration agents were in Minneapolis and the Central neighborhood when Good was killed.

This is what we know about why ICE is in Minneapolis:

Why is ICE in Minnesota?

Federal authorities said a flood of agents were sent to Minnesota as the state is under investigation for alleged fraud activity in a scandal that saw Gov. Tim Walz drop out of his bid for reelection.

Dozens of people, including many who are U.S. citizens of Somali descent, have been charged with crimes related to a fraud scheme with Minnesota's child nutrition program. The charges have unfurled since 2022 but a recent spotlight on fraud in the state has been amplified by a viral video from a conservative social media influencer and Republican lawmakers' responses.

In recent weeks, Trump seized on the scandal, calling out Walz and targeting the Somali population.

Federal agencies including the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security said they were surging resources to the state to investigate the fraud.

Immigration agents have been operating in Minneapolis for several weeks as pressure ramps up amid the fraud scandal falllout. According to Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, agents have made more than 1,000 arrests since first deploying resources to Minnesota.

It's not clear what specific operations agents were conducting on Jan. 7 in the neighborhood where Good was shot.

Minneapolis is the latest Democrat-run city to see immigration action

In Trump's second term, immigration and other federal agents have been sent to several Democrat-led cities that the president has claimed are overrun by violent crime and illegal immigration.

The operations have prompted widespread protests, arrests and sometimes clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement. Local authorities have in several cases called the Trump administration's characterization of crime in their cities as exaggerated.

Cities including Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Portland, Oregon, and Chicago ‒ all led by Democrats ‒ have been targets. In one Chicago raid, federal agents rappelled from Black Hawk helicopters onto an apartment building. In the nation's capital, law enforcement set up checkpoints around the city and National Guard troops patrolled, even cleaning graffiti and picking up trash.

Contributing: Karissa Waddick, USA TODAY