Minnesota Governor Tim Walz addressed the state in a prime-time speech on Wednesday night, urging residents to document Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations and warning of ongoing chaos amid federal enforcement actions.
“If you see these ICE agents in your neighborhood, take out that phone and hit record,” Walz said. “Help us create a database of the atrocities against Minnesotans, not just to establish a record for posterity, but to bank evidence for future prosecution.”
The governor described the federal presence in Minnesota as unprecedented, saying it “defies belief” and that media coverage does not fully capture the disruption and disorder. He outlined actions by ICE agents, describing them as “armed, masked, undertrained” and conducting door-to-door operations, pulling over individuals—including U.S. citizens—and demanding to see their immigration documents.
Walz specifically addressed the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good by ICE agent Jonathan Ross, who claimed self-defense. “We’ve all watched the video, we’ve all seen what happened. And yet instead of conducting an impartial investigation so we can hold accountable the officer responsible for his death, the Trump administration is devoting the full power of the federal government to finding an excuse to attack the victim and her family,” Walz said.
The governor also highlighted the recent resignation of federal prosecutors in protest of the federal handling of the case. “Just yesterday, six federal prosecutors, including long-time career prosecutors, quit their jobs rather than go along with this assault on the United States Constitution,” he said.
Walz criticized U.S. President Donald Trump, citing his online statements promising a “day of retribution and reckoning” and calling it a direct threat against Minnesotans. “Donald Trump wants this chaos,” the governor said. “He wants confusion. And yes, he wants more violence on our streets. We cannot give him what he wants. We can’t. We must protest loudly, urgently, but also peacefully.”
He concluded the address with a call for unity and vigilance. “We’re an island of decency in a country being driven towards cruelty. We will remain an island of decency, of justice, of community, of peace. And tonight I come before you simply to ask: Don’t let anyone take that away from us. Thank you. Protect each other. And may God bless the people of Minnesota.”
The address comes amid ongoing ICE operations in the state, seven days after the fatal shooting of Renee Good. The situation has drawn national attention as federal agents continue enforcement actions targeting undocumented individuals, and Minnesota lawmakers have drafted articles of impeachment against Governor Walz in response to his handling of the crisis.
