Statement from YWCA USA on the Fatal ICE Shooting in Minneapolis
YWCA USA is heartbroken by the fatal shooting of a woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Minneapolis. We extend our deepest condolences to her loved ones and hold in care all who are grieving, fearful, and shaken by this act of violence. We stand in solidarity with YWCA Minneapolis and the broader Twin Cities community as they confront this devastating loss.
This killing is not an isolated tragedy. It reflects a deeply troubling pattern of immigration enforcement practices that disproportionately target immigrant communities and other historically marginalized people, placing lives at risk and eroding trust in public institutions. Across the country, aggressive and militarized immigration enforcement has fostered a climate of fear that destabilizes families, traumatizes children, and undermines community well-being. When government actors use deadly force in routine enforcement encounters, it represents a profound affront to civil liberties, human dignity, and the principles of justice and safety that should guide our nation.
When federal enforcement systems operate without sufficient safeguards to protect all people—particularly women and children—the consequences extend far beyond a single encounter. These actions reverberate through families and neighborhoods, fracturing trust, destabilizing households, and creating lasting trauma that can follow children into classrooms, caregivers into workplaces, and communities into every aspect of daily life. Over the past year, we have seen a troubling escalation in immigration enforcement practices that place women and children in harm’s way, disrupt family stability, and undermine the conditions necessary for people to feel safe, supported, and able to thrive.
“YWCA was founded on the belief that every person deserves safety, dignity, and the opportunity to thrive,” said Margaret Mitchell, CEO of YWCA USA. “For 167 years, across 32 presidential administrations, we have remained steadfast in our commitment to improving the lives of women, children, families, and communities—without regard to politics or immigration status. Violence and dehumanization have no place in that vision, and we must continue to speak out when policies and practices put human lives in harm’s way.”
YWCA USA is an independent, nonpartisan organization that has served communities across the country for more than a century and a half. Throughout our history, we have worked to eliminate racism, empower women, and advance peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all people. That commitment has never wavered. Immigration status does not diminish a person’s humanity or their right to safety. Every individual deserves to move through their community without fear of lethal force.
In this moment of grief, YWCA USA reaffirms our unwavering solidarity with immigrant communities and with all those whose lives are made more precarious by systems rooted in racism and exclusion. We stand with YWCA Minneapolis and the people of the Twin Cities. And we remain committed—today and always—to building communities where every life is valued, protected, and treated with dignity.