The fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minnesota by an ICE agent last month sparked a huge nationwide uproar and protest. The Trump administration, however, including President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem had firmly supported the ICE agent’s action and tagged Good as a “domestic terrorist.”
On Tuesday, the acting ICE director, Todd Lyons, appeared before lawmakers at a Department of Homeland Security oversight hearing. California Rep. Eric Swalwell asked if he would apologize to Good “for being called a domestic terrorist by the president and his leadership.” To this, Lyons firmly stated “no.”
In response to his “no”, Swalwell pressed the question, adding, “Is she a domestic terrorist?” To this, Lyons did not answer directly, as he said that he would not comment on an investigation that was pending. He, however, acknowledged the controversial statements that President Trump and Noem made about both Good and ICE nurse Alex Pretti, who were shot in separate incidents involving ICE agents.
Q: Will you apologize to the family of Renee Good for being called a domestic terrorist by the President and his leadership?
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons: No sir pic.twitter.com/HkUmZbO8k1
— Headquarters (@HQNewsNow) February 10, 2026
When asked if he agreed with what the leaders said about Good and Pretti, Lyon again refused to answer, saying, “I welcome the opportunity to speak to the family in private, but I’m not going to comment on any active investigation.” He also mentioned that he would not apologize to Pretti’s family either.
Social media erupted as the clip of the hearing surfaced on X. While the MAGA fans supported Lyon as they firmly believe that both Good and Pretti were killed because they were being nuisances to law enforcement, another huge section of netizens bashed the ICE Director for his lack of empathy and humanity.
One user commented, “Hope this clip is played at his trial one day when he’s begging for leniency.” Another one added, “Trump’s ice Nazis kill Americans without remorse.”
A third user said, “When given a chance to show humanity, he declined,” while another one called Lyons “spineless.” One user went straight to the point, saying, “It shouldn’t be this hard to be a decent human and acknowledge that they were both labeled something they’re not.”
ICE Director Todd Lyons told me in today’s hearing that he never saw this video of one of his agent thugs threatening to murder a citizen for raising his voice.
Either he’s lying, or he’s the most incompetent federal official ever to walk the face of the earth. https://t.co/g2FF0kHWcx pic.twitter.com/Qd09UckRAj
— Congressman Shri Thanedar (@RepShriThanedar) February 10, 2026
However, regardless of the public opinion, the Trump administration has firmly been holding their ground since the shooting of Good and refused to acknowledge any mistake even after Pretti was shot.
The narrative of the ICE agents acting in self-defense fell apart the moment the video footage of the incidents came to light, but even after that, the administration and their supporters believe that both Good and Pretti posed threats to the agents and to the overall ICE agenda in general, and therefore had to be shot.
Following their deaths, Democratic lawmakers are trying to use this hearing as a way to press the Trump administration for more accountability and transparency in its ICE operations. They are also pushing for the Republicans to agree to more training for ICE agents so that the recklessness seen in the way that the immigration situation is being dealt with in the U.S. can be toned down in a more effective way.
