Instant certainty is the enemy of truth.
Unfortunately, instant certainty has afflicted all sides in the case of the death of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good at the hands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis last week.
The only way to separate truth from opinion and to impose justice is to conduct an impartial and fact-based investigation. Unfortunately, the Trump administration seems emphatic about imposing its own version of instant certainty instead.
That is likely to do little other than inflame already tense emotions.
Americans today need greater peace in public affairs, not further division. They need the strength of unity in a darkening world, not the weakness of contention.
Competing videos
They are getting neither as competing videos circulate widely in an effort to capture public support.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says the Minneapolis killing was a clear matter of self-defense on the part of the ICE agent whom videos show firing the fatal shots. She said Good was involved in an “act of domestic terrorism,” although no evidence has been brought forward to substantiate that claim.
Vice President JD Vance wasted little time in blaming “a left-wing network,” including Democrats, the news media and Good for the incident.
Meanwhile, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension issued a statement saying it will not investigate the killing because the federal government has denied it “full access to evidence, witnesses and information” needed to do so.
Case closed?
It appears the White House has made up its mind in this matter. Minnesota officials, meanwhile, are left with the reality that a life was taken within state borders but that they are being denied the ability to investigate and prosecute.
An incident such as this, happening amid heightened tensions and contentious deportations, can exacerbate mistrust, anger and mischaracterizations. Even a set of videos showing the incident can raise more questions than it answers.
A video the White House shared, showing the incident from the point of view of ICE agents, showed Good saying she was “fine” and “I’m not mad at you” moments before the shots were fired. Was she being defiant? Had she been harassing the agents throughout the day? Why was her vehicle stationed in such a way as to impede traffic? Why did she not yield to agents’ demands for her to exit the vehicle?
Further, why did the ICE agent who fired the shots position himself in front of the vehicle? The video appears to show Good turning to the right to avoid him. Why did the agent decide to use lethal force? Were there other, less lethal options available for resolving the confrontation?
Killing demands justice
Good’s death ought to force justice. No one should be allowed to take a life without being required to account for that act through a credible judicial process.
ICE agents have spent months combing the nation for immigrants it says need to be deported. NBC News has been tracking these actions and reported last week that 68,990 people have been detained.
Yes, Trump won the 2024 election partly because of his promises to deport unauthorized immigrants.
A year ago, voters were unhappy with the way the Biden administration had handled undocumented immigration into the United States. As recently as September, 54% said they wanted people residing in the country illegally to be deported, according to a New York Times, Siena University poll.
But that sentiment may be changing. In December, the Pew Research Center found 53% saying the administration’s tactics were “too much.” People are not liking what they see.
At the heart of every public controversy lies one important truth. Those on both sides are human beings with much more in common than those things that separate them. But immigrants, protesters and others involved in these roundups are too often treated with less than human dignity.
Things did not have to happen this way.
Yes, instant certainty and judgments affect all sides. But Americans should expect a greater sense of fairness, justice and political maturity from the White House than what has been displayed thus far.
A life was taken. ICE agents are not above the law.
The nation’s leaders ought to at least caution people to reserve judgment pending a thorough investigation in cooperation with local and state law enforcement. Videos should be just one part of the evidence provided.
Justice should be the aim.