After ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed 37-year-old Minneapolis mother of three Renee Good on Jan. 7, Vice President J.D. Vance and other Trump regime officials stated that Ross and all ICE agents are “protected by absolute immunity” from prosecution. According to legal experts and constitutional scholars, this claim is false. In fact, ICE and Customs and Border Protection agents who engage in violent, illegal conduct on the job can face state criminal penalties, including prison time.
While the Department of Homeland Security has said there will be no investigation into Good’s death and have blocked the sharing of evidence with Minnesota prosecutors, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty is considering filing state charges against ICE agent Ross. After CBP agents killed Minneapolis ICU nurse Alex Pretti on Jan. 24, the Department of Justice said its Civil Rights Division will be investigating the shooting, but just as in the Good case, the Trump administration has refused to cooperate with local officials.
In late January, a new national coalition of locally-elected prosecutors announced the formation of a new group, Fight Against Federal Overreach, an initiative to hold federal officials accountable when they break state laws, especially in states around the country where ICE and CBP agents are being deployed. Between The Lines’ Scott Harris spoke with Fairfax County Virginia Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano, a co-founder of the new group, who talks about its mission amid growing concerns about warrantless entries, unlawful detentions and violent tactics employed in its raids and other local operations.
STEVE DECOSANO: The mission of the organization—which as you mentioned, is a collection of elected prosecutors from around the country—is we believe that we’re protecting the rule of law. I think everybody in our organization was sickened and appalled by what happened to Alex Pretti and Renee Good, and I think that we all came together recognizing that if we don’t stand up for the rule of law, we’re going to lose this country. So really what we have is a bunch of prosecutors who are taking the brave stand to let these federal agents know, regardless of what the president or Stephen Miller or what anybody told you: You don’t have federal immunity or you don’t have full immunity. And if you come in our jurisdictions and you commit state crimes, we’re going to do everything that we can to make you answer to state authorities. Because at the end of the day, if we can’t uphold the Constitution, we’re in really, really bad shape in this country. And that’s kind of what we’re trying to do here.
SCOTT HARRIS: Attorney Descano, what are some examples or scenarios of instances where a federal officer, official or a federal agent, like someone from ICE or CBP, what’s an example of that you believe would be appropriate as a state prosecutor to get involved in and prosecute?
STEVE DECOSANO: Well, to be quite honest with you, I think you look at it through the lens of how you would evaluate a case involving a local officer. We are talking about any violation of somebody’s constitutional rights. We are talking about when there is violence inflicted on individuals unreasonably from law enforcement. I mean, let’s call it what it is. We’re seeing these videos in Minneapolis, we’re seeing them from other places with these agents, beating people on the street, shooting and killing people on the street, essentially abducting people. It’s complete lawlessness. It’s chaos out there.
I know my experience when I brought charges against federal officers in state court was very, very similar to the Renee Good incident, somebody trying to drive away and an officer shooting at a moving car. So these are the things that we’re worried about. At the end of the day, Scott, what I believe we are seeing is we are seeing chaos on the streets that is being fueled by the upper reaches of our government telling these guys, you don’t have anything to worry about. You’ll get away with it. Well, we’re here to tell you you’re not going to get away with it. If you screw around in the state, you’re going to have to answer to state authorities. And I want them to know that there’s no federal pardon power that’s going to get these guys out from that jam. It’s a tricky road to hoe, but it can be walkeX and that’s what we’re committed to doing.
SCOTT HARRIS: Just from the point of view of a local prosecutor like yourself, what are your concerns going into the 2026 election? There’s a lot of people out there who are thinking Donald Trump will do everything possible. He’ll cross all kinds of lines to prevent Congress from falling into the hands of Democrats who he fears will invoke an impeachment resolution against him. We’ve seen him do it before in 2021, Jan. 6th at the Capitol with the insurrection, the violent mob that attacked the Capitol to prevent the peaceful transfer of power when Donald Trump lost that election. What are you worried about in 2026? Not that many months from now.
STEVE DECOSANO: It’s not that many months from now. And I’ll tell you, I was thinking about this earlier today. I’m worried about them trying to take control. I saw Trump mention nationalizing elections, which is a clear violation of the 10th Amendment of the Constitution. I think they’re trying to weaken our institutions and I think the thing that really keeps me up at night is Election Day. I worry about armed federal agents at polling places under the pretext of immigration or this or that, scaring people away from coming out to exercise the franchise. Scaring people who are more likely to be Democratic voters away because of their skin color or the way they speak or where they’re from. I really do think all of this is intertwined and the thing that keeps keeping me up at night is that not only will we not have free and fair elections, but that on actual Election Day there will be armed federal agents trying to ensure Donald Trump wins and that there will be violence in the streets.
And by the way, when we talk about fighting against federal overreach, that’s some of what we’re talking about as well, right? We’re talking about our elections, but also election integrity. Those are the types of cases that we as prosecutors handle as well. So trust me, we’re not just thinking about what’s happening in Minneapolis today. We’re thinking about what’s happening in the polling place seven months from now.
Listen to Scott Harris’ in-depth interview with Steve Descano (17:20) and see more articles and opinion pieces in the related links section of this page. See more articles and opinion pieces in the related links section of this page. For periodic updates on the Trump authoritarian playbook, subscribe here to our Between The Lines Radio Newsmagazine Substack newsletter. Subscribe to our Weekly Summary
