00:00Two fatal shootings by ICE agents in Minneapolis have sparked a fierce backlash amid President
00:09Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. Can those agents be prosecuted? Here's a look.
00:16The Department of Homeland Security said 37-year-old Alex Preddy approached ICE agents
00:22on January 24th with a handgun and violently resisted attempts to disarm him. Bystander
00:29videos verified by Reuters show Preddy holding not a gun but a phone as he tries to help protesters
00:36whom agents pushed to the ground. The Minneapolis police chief said Preddy was carrying a handgun
00:42legally. And DHS said an officer had fired defensive shots after 37-year-old Renee Good
00:50attempted to run him over on January 7th. Online videos of the shooting verified by Reuters
00:56cast doubt on the government's narrative.
01:01Aaron Reikland Melnick, senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, breaks down the
01:06use of force law.
01:08Legally, ICE agents are allowed to use force, but that has to be a reasonable degree of force.
01:15And the same use of force laws apply to ICE officers as they apply to any federal law enforcement
01:20officers. For example, deadly force, such as firing a gun, may only be used when it is in response to
01:28an imminent threat of deadly force used by someone else. So, broadly speaking, ICE officers do have
01:36legal authority to use force when conducting arrests, but are still limited by the requirement that that
01:42force be reasonable and proportionate.
01:44Federal agents are generally immune from state prosecution for actions taken as part of their
01:49official duties. But, immunity only applies when an officer's actions were authorized under
01:55federal law and were necessary and proper. Victims can sue the federal government for compensation
02:02when its employees cause financial or bodily injury in the course of their work. But, these claims face
02:09limits. Legal experts generally consider the law a weak mechanism for addressing government
02:16officials' misconduct.
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