When federal power crosses its limits, the consequences are not abstract — they are deadly.

By J.F.R. Perseveranda for PinoyBuilt.com

ICE vs. Police Authority in America

What the Killing of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis Reveals About Power, Limits, and Accountability

The killing of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis is not only a tragedy. It is a warning. A warning about what happens when the boundaries between immigration enforcement and traditional policing blur — and when federal authority operates without clear public understanding or accountability.

For Filipino-Americans and other diaspora communities — many of whom live in mixed-status families or carry historical memory of U.S. colonial and military power — this case forces urgent questions:

Who actually has the authority to stop you?
What limits exist on federal agents operating inside U.S. cities?
Can immigration enforcement legally behave like local police?
And what happens when those legal boundaries collapse?

To answer these questions, we must first understand the legal difference between police officers and ICE agents, and then apply that framework directly to the killing of Renee Nicole Good using publicly documented facts.

Part I: Why ICE and Police Are Often Confused

To the average person, ICE agents often look indistinguishable from police officers. They carry firearms. They wear tactical vests. They use unmarked vehicles. They conduct street operations. Sometimes, they operate alongside local law enforcement.

But legally, appearance does not equal authority.

This confusion is not accidental. It has been produced by years of expanding federal enforcement operations into local spaces traditionally governed by state and municipal law.

Part II: What Police Are Legally Authorized to Do

Local and state police derive their authority from state constitutions, statutes, and municipal codes. Their mission is the enforcement of criminal law.

Police officers may:

Enforce traffic laws
Stop vehicles for civil traffic violations
Detain individuals based on reasonable suspicion
Arrest individuals based on probable cause
Use force under constitutional standards set by the U.S. Supreme Court

“All claims that law enforcement officers have used excessive force — deadly or not — in the course of an arrest, investigatory stop, or other ‘seizure’ of a free citizen should be analyzed under the Fourth Amendment’s ‘objective reasonableness’ standard.”

— Graham v. Connor (1989)

This standard requires courts to judge force from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, not with the benefit of hindsight. However, it does not grant unlimited discretion.

“The use of deadly force to prevent the escape of all felony suspects, whatever the circumstances, is constitutionally unreasonable.”

“Where the suspect poses no immediate threat to the officer and no threat to others, the harm resulting from failing to apprehend him does not justify the use of deadly force.”

— Tennessee v. Garner (1985)

Together, Graham and Garner establish that deadly force is constitutional only when an officer has probable cause to believe a suspect poses an immediate threat of serious physical harm.

Part III: What ICE Is — and Is Not — Authorized to Do

ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is a federal agency under the Department of Homeland Security. Its authority comes primarily from the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and federal statutes related to immigration and transnational crime.

ICE’s core mission is civil immigration enforcement. That distinction matters.

ICE is not a general police force. ICE agents do not possess inherent authority to patrol neighborhoods, enforce traffic laws, or conduct routine street stops.

Part IV: Can ICE Stop a Vehicle?

ICE agents may stop a vehicle only under limited circumstances:

Reasonable suspicion of a federal immigration violation
A lawful federal criminal investigation
Participation in a properly authorized joint task force

ICE agents may not lawfully stop vehicles for speeding, equipment violations, or generalized suspicion. Traffic enforcement is not ICE’s mission.

An unlawful stop at inception taints everything that follows.

Part V: ICE and U.S. Citizens

U.S. citizens cannot commit civil immigration violations. ICE has no authority to arrest a citizen for immigration status.

Once citizenship is known or reasonably established, detention must end immediately. Prolonged detention of citizens by ICE has repeatedly resulted in federal civil rights lawsuits and settlements.

Part VI: What We Know About the Killing of Renee Nicole Good

According to publicly available reporting summarized on Wikipedia:

Renee Nicole Good was killed during an encounter involving a federal immigration enforcement officer in Minneapolis
The encounter occurred during a vehicle stop
She was not accused of a violent crime
The incident escalated to the use of deadly force

Where facts remain disputed or under investigation, this analysis does not speculate.

Part VII: Applying ICE Authority to the Renee Good Case

The Stop

If the vehicle stop was based on a traffic violation or generalized suspicion, it likely exceeded ICE’s lawful authority. ICE does not possess routine traffic enforcement powers.

Citizenship

If Renee Good was a U.S. citizen, ICE had no authority to detain her for immigration purposes. Any detention would need independent federal criminal justification.

Use of Force

Federal agents are bound by DHS use-of-force policies and constitutional standards. Deadly force is justified only when there is an immediate threat of death or serious bodily harm.

If the stop itself was unlawful, the legal justification for force becomes far more vulnerable.

Part VIII: Mission Creep and Structural Risk

The Renee Good case highlights a dangerous national pattern: immigration enforcement expanding into general policing functions without corresponding accountability.

This mission creep places communities at risk — citizens and non-citizens alike.

Part IX: A Filipino-American Perspective

Filipino-Americans carry historical memory of U.S. colonial policing in the Philippines — systems built on surveillance, control, and force.

When federal agencies exceed their mandates at home, those historical patterns re-emerge.

Know Your Rights: ICE vs. Police

This section is for sharing. Save it. Screenshot it. Teach it.

You have the right to remain silent. You do not have to answer questions about where you were born or your immigration status.
You can ask: “Am I being detained, or am I free to go?” If you are free to go, you may leave.
ICE is not traffic police. ICE agents cannot stop vehicles for speeding, broken lights, or routine traffic violations.
ICE cannot detain U.S. citizens. Citizens cannot commit civil immigration violations.
You do not have to show papers unless an officer has lawful authority and a valid reason.
You can refuse consent to search. Say clearly: “I do not consent to any searches.”
Administrative ICE warrants are not judge-signed. They do not authorize entry into a home.
Only a judicial warrant signed by a judge allows forced entry or criminal arrest.

If you believe your rights were violated, document names, badge numbers, locations, and times as soon as possible.

Conclusion: Why Boundaries Matter

The killing of Renee Nicole Good forces a necessary reckoning. Not only with the question of whether force was justified — but whether the encounter should have occurred at all.

ICE is not police. Immigration law is not criminal law. And constitutional limits are not optional.

When those boundaries collapse, tragedy follows.

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By: J.F.R. Perseveranda

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