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Does ICE agent in Renee Good’s shooting have “absolute immunity” from state charges? Here’s what the law says.
By Cara Tabachnick, January 15, 2026 / 3:10 PM EST / CBS News
The fatal shooting of Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis last week sets up a potential legal showdown between the state and federal government.
If the state were to indict the ICE agent, Jonathan Ross, on criminal charges, he could try to claim a form of immunity conferred by the Constitution. Vice President JD Vance raised this the day after the shooting, asserting that the officer was immune from prosecution because he’s a federal agent.
“That guy is protected by absolute immunity. He was doing his job,” Vance said. The Department of Homeland Security alleged that Good weaponized her vehicle, and said the officer acted in self-defense. However, local officials pointed to video of the shooting and raised doubts.
The FBI and Justice Department are leading the investigation into the shooting after the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension withdrew from the federal probe, saying it didn’t have “complete access” to the case evidence.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Minnesota officials “don’t have any jurisdiction in this investigation.”
But Carolyn Shapiro, a law professor and co-director of the Institute on the Supreme Court of the United States at Chicago-Kent College of Law, told CBS News it’s “simply false” that the state lacks jurisdiction.
Shapiro, who previously served as Illinois’ solicitor general, said Minnesota has the authority to investigate and prosecute crimes committed in the state.
But any attempt to bring state criminal charges over Good’s death is likely to face legal obstacles arising from a claim of immunity under the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause.
What is Supremacy Clause immunity?
The Supremacy Clause, in Article VI of the Constitution, establishes federal law as supreme, superseding state law. It limits the ability of states to interfere with federal law through criminal prosecution. States mayhold federal officials accountable for violating state law, unless state law conflictswith federal law; if there is a conflict, federal law prevails. But if state prosecutors have evidence federal officials acted in ways not related to their job duties or work policies, then state law prevails.
Editor’s Note: Read the rest of the story, at the below link.
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