A Brief Interruption
Misinformation, Disinformation, Propaganda, and ICE
I’m writing to interrupt our vaccine series (next issue will be out this week, as promised) for a note on the misinformation, disinformation (false information shared intentionally to mislead someone), and propaganda (ideas spread to further an agenda) surrounding another issue that’s gripping the U.S.: ICE.
This past weekend, during Minneapolis protests against the presence of agents from ICE (which, in case you’ve been living under a rock and don’t know what ICE is, stands for Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and Border Patrol, an agent fatally shot Alex Pretti after he came to the aid of a woman agents had pushed down and pepper-sprayed. But federal officials are trying to justify the use of force and falsely claim Pretti was a domestic terrorist who brandished his gun at agents, threatening them.
This was the second fatal shooting in the city related to ICE and Border Patrol agents’ presence, following that of Renee Good earlier this month, as she began to drive away from the officer who shot and killed her. A disinformation campaign followed that shooting, too.
Journalists who have far more experience than I do reporting on these events are covering them. Still, I want to address the dangerous ways federal officials are using disinformation to justify these deaths. Despite claims to the contrary, neither of these individuals was attacking or threatening officers. Pretti did have a gun on his person at first, which he was licensed to carry, but ICE agents had taken the firearm from him before shooting him, according to numerous reports.
President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and other officials from the Trump administration have made misleading or false claims that contradict evidence captured by publicly available cell phone video from witnesses. They’ve been trying to recast Good and Pretti as domestic terrorists without evidence. Vance even claimed that “a federal law enforcement official engaging in federal law enforcement action” has absolute immunity, which legal experts say is false.
ICE’s actions and the federal government’s misinformation campaign surrounding them are not new. Beginning in 2025, the administration deployed thousands of agents in other major U.S. cities with the stated intention of catching criminals, yet around 47% of people in ICE detention as of January 2026 do not have criminal records, according to the agency’s own data.
Good and Pretti aren’t the only ones shot and killed, either. In 2025, Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez, Isaias Sanchez Barboza, and Keith Porter Jr. were also shot and killed by immigration agents. A further seven people have been injured in 19 shootings by immigration officers, according to The Trace. Even before this administration, ICE itself has been opaque about how it addresses these incidents. There have also been instances where video evidence contradicted ICE’s descriptions of officer-involved shootings.
It is critical to guard ourselves against misinformation (see TEE Issue No. 2 for resources) from the government or any source, particularly when that misinformation is used to justify violence, as is the case with ICE. If we don’t actively seek out the truth or think critically about new information, it minimizes our ability to hold the powerful to account and prevent further harm.
“According to the recently launched UN Global Risk Report 2024, mis- and disinformation is not only a top global threat—it’s the one countries feel least prepared to address,” wrote Carolina G. Azevedo, UN Development Coordination Office Chief of Communications and Results Reporting. “Tackling it means protecting communities from harm while upholding freedom of expression and other human rights.”
A sign stuck to a fence in Minneapolis on January 13, 2026, that reads “Think while it is still legal.” Photo by Chad Davis, CC BY 4.0
Further Resources
20 claims about videos and images related to ICE, investigated, Snopes
“Abolish ICE”, Today Explained podcast, Vox
The Campaign to Destroy Renee Nicole Good, Wired
Kristi Noem said most immigrants in ICE detention are violent criminals. The data says otherwise.“ Poynter Institute
What legal rights do you have in encounters with ICE? PolitiFact