Blumenthal Demands DHS Provide Information on Training Policies Governing the Use of Force Following the Killing of Renee Good

[WASHINGTON, DC] – Following the killing of Renee Nicole Good, an unarmed U.S. citizen, by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ranking Member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), wrote U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem today seeking information about “how thoroughly, if at all, agents are being trained on DHS policies governing the use of force, what those policies are, and whether, in light of the rapid expansion of its forces – 12,000 officers and agents hired in less than a year – speed is being prioritized over safety and substance in the training and hiring of these new officers.”

Blumenthal opened an inquiry into DHS’s use of excessive force in its interactions with U.S. citizens last year. Today, Blumenthal wrote to Noem, “The shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minnesota is simply the latest and gravest example of DHS’s escalating and indefensible use of force against the American public. Your shameful remarks this week denigrate a beloved mother and Minnesotan and are another entry in this sordid tale of DHS deception and propaganda.”

In December, Blumenthal released a report highlighting firsthand accounts of twenty-two Americans who were physically assaulted, pepper sprayed, denied medical treatment, and detained – sometimes for days – by federal immigration agents. The report, Unchecked Authority: Examining the Trump Administration’s Extrajudicial Immigration Detentions Of U.S. Citizens, was released ahead of a bicameral public forum hosted by Blumenthal and U.S. Representative Robert Garcia (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, to receive testimony from five Americans who were unconstitutionally detained by agents of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Both the report and the forum featured accounts of federal immigration officials acting with excessive force and then fabricating claims about the U.S. citizens who were detained.

In October, Blumenthal and Garcia opened an inquiry into the increasing detention of U.S. citizens by federal immigration agents. In a letter to Noem, Blumenthal and Garcia demanded information and records from the agency following increasingly frequent reports of unconstitutional detentions of U.S. citizens by agents of ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), often using disproportionate force. Blumenthal and Garcia reiterated their request in another letter to Noem in November.

The full text of today’s letter to Noem is copied below and available here.

Dear Secretary Noem,

This week, Americans watched in horror as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) agent murdered an unarmed woman in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Beginning almost immediately after the incident, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”)—and you personally—repeatedly misstated the basic facts of this interaction notwithstanding video evidence that refutes your statements.^[1] The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI or “the Subcommittee”) has been conducting an ongoing inquiry into DHS’s use of excessive force in its interactions with U.S. citizens. Specifically, on December 9, 2025, PSI released a report detailing interviews with 22 U.S. Citizens detained by DHS officials, documenting instances of excessive use of force by ICE and Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) agents including shooting an individual five times, breaking ribs, and slamming people to the ground.^[2] The report documented how following such flagrant violations, DHS’s preferred tactic was to claim that its agents were following the law and that those agents were injured by the very individuals whose rights they had violated.^[3] Claims that, based on all available evidence, proved untrue in each case observed by the Subcommittee. The shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minnesota is simply the latest and gravest example of DHS’s escalating and indefensible use of force against the American public. Your shameful remarks this week denigrate a beloved mother and Minnesotan and are another entry in this sordid tale of DHS deception and propaganda.

At the same press conference where you misstated how the shooting in Minnesota unfolded, you noted that the ICE agent who fired his weapon “followed his training, did exactly what he’s been taught to do in that situation,”^[4] These comments necessitate asking how thoroughly, if at all, agents are being trained on DHS policies governing the use of force, what those policies are, and whether, in light of the rapid expansion of its forces –12,000 officers and agents hired in less than a year^[5]– speed is being prioritized over safety and substance in the training and hiring of these new officers. While DHS has, thus far, declined to formally identify the name of the ICE agent who shot Ms. Good, they have described him as a 10-year veteran of the agency, further raising the question of whether seasoned officers are receiving adequate updates to their training as well.^[6]

To assist the Subcommittee in its inquiry into the rise in instances of excessive use of force by DHS agents, as well as to ascertain the scope of training that agents receive and follow, please provide the following information by January 23, 2026:

1. Describe in detail what evidence demonstrates that the agent who fatally shot Renee Nicole Good “followed his training;”
2. The date on which the agent who fatally shot Renee Nicole Good began his employment with DHS;
3. The hours of training on the use of force and discharge of firearms received by the agent who fatally shot Renee Nicole Good;
4. Any disciplinary records regarding the agent who fatally shot Renee Nicole Good;
5. Whether the ICE agent who shot Renee Nicole Good has been placed on administrative leave or other restricted duty following this incident;
6. Does DHS or its components document instances of excessive use of force by agents during immigration enforcement operations?
1. If so, please indicate for each component the number of documented instances for years 2024 through 2026.
7. Does DHS or its components document instances of firearm discharge by agents during immigration enforcement operations?
1. If so, please indicate for each component the number of documented instances for years 2024 through 2026.

In addition, please produce the following records^[7] on or before January 23, 2026:

1. Records reflecting any changes to hiring standards at DHS from 2024 to 2026 including but not limited to: education requirements, age requirements, physical fitness requirements, polygraph requirements, background requirements, and criminal history requirements;
2. Records reflecting any changes to training requirements for DHS agents on the use of force and the discharge of firearms from 2024 to 2026, including but not limited to, policies, procedures, guidance, hours of training, coursework, and simulation exercises;
3. Any and all policies, procedures, guidance, training documents, or other records provided to DHS agents performing immigration enforcement operations pertaining to the use of force and firearms;
4. Any and all policies, procedures, guidance, or other records related to hiring standards or requirements for agents disaggregated by year for 2024, 2025, and 2026.

Please contact the Subcommittee if you have any questions about responding to these requests. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

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