I was a combat soldier in Iraq. Here's the 1 question everyone should be asking about ICE right now
By: Diana Oestreich (HuffPost)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
We have to be clear about what we are witnessing from Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Minnesota.
As a combat soldier, I recognize a mission when I see one — not because it’s announced, but because it’s being carried out. In the span of weeks, ICE and Border Patrol operations in Minneapolis have resulted in the deaths of two Minnesotans. In over a year of combat in Iraq, my battalion of 500 soldiers did not kill a single person.
That difference matters.
My unit spent 397 days on the battlefield. We were shot at. We feared for our lives. Snipers fired from crowds. Improvised explosive devices lined the roads we were ordered to clear. And still, we did not return fire unless strict conditions were met: The shooter had to be clearly identified, civilians could not be in the line of fire, and lethal force had to be the last resort.
Why? Because that was not our mission.
Our mission was to build bases, secure supply routes, and protect civilian life. We were governed by Rules of Engagement, the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and the War Crimes Act. Violations were not brushed aside. Soldiers are criminally accountable when we break the law. That accountability is what separates professional soldiers from mercenaries.
This isn’t just my experience. It’s the standard.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara stated publicly , in 2025, the Minneapolis Police Department recovered roughly 900 guns from the street and arrested hundreds of violent offenders — and did not kill a single person.
Let that sit with you.
If the Minneapolis Police Department didn’t kill anyone in a year of active policing, and my combat unit didn’t kill anyone in over a year of war, Minnesotans are right to ask why ICE and the Border Patrol have killed two people here in two weeks.
The answer is uncomfortable but unavoidable. Either this is their mission — or they are operating outside accountability.
Minnesota is demanding a full legal investigation into the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, including allegations that lifesaving medical care was delayed or denied. Refusing transparency or investigation is not partisan disagreement. It is a constitutional failure.
When armed agents operate beyond the reach of law, they are no longer public servants. They are something else entirely.
Mercenaries are defined not only by who pays them but by what restrains them. Mercenaries answer to orders, not to law, ethics or public accountability. That is precisely why soldiers and law enforcement officers hold codes of conduct so fiercely. Without those codes, uniforms become disguises instead of safeguards.
As a veteran, I refuse to accept mercenary behavior hiding behind federal badges on Minnesota soil. This is my home. Minnesota stands for liberty, justice and due process — not secrecy, immunity or violence without consequence.
Staff changes are not legal accountability. Silence is not justice. Justice delayed is justice denied.
Minnesotans are demanding a full, independent investigation under state law into the agents involved in these deaths. No one — federal or otherwise — is above the law of this land.
If ICE and the Border Patrol cannot operate within the Constitution, with restraint, transparency and accountability, then they are not fit to carry out their mission in Minnesota — or anywhere else.
Because when force is untethered from law, our freedom is already in danger.
Diana Oestreich is a combat veteran, founder of The Waging Peace Project, and author of “Waging Peace: One Soldier’s Story of Putting Love First.” As an author, activist and soldier-turned-peacemaker, she’s a nationally recognized speaker at the intersection of justice, nonviolence, faith and how everyday peacemakers are challenging and changing our world.
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People who know are asking serious questions about ICE operations in Minneapolis. People who do not wear masks are publicly voicing their concerns over what ICE is doing. People who have been in worse situations are voicing doubts about ICE.
The only thing these people are getting are Big Government excuses and Deep State cover ups.
Morning Nerm..so is ICE still going after the gang leaders and drug lords etc that are there illegally as Trump originally said they were going to do?
All we see and hear about is ICE going after people legal and illegal, brawls, shootings and protests..
I thought when it was first announced going after the gangs/drugs etc fair enough but now it looks like they have lost the plot..
They seem very trigger happy in the State of Minnesota...and no we haven't forgotten the Aussie Justine Ruszczyk the Somali American cop shot dead back in 2017..
Noor was released this time last year after serving 3 years of a 12.5 year sentence..that case stunk to high heaven of cover ups and politically correctness...
There was certainly no justice for Justine in this case...and not looking good for anyone else...
I don't believe anyone knows what's going on in Minneapolis any longer. The people in Washington D.C. are trying to cover their asses, so that's a tell.
Interesting. . . you seem to be suggesting that the more things change the more they are much the same, yes? The federal government is a 'circular firing society.'
Ironically at a congressional hearing today, Secretary of State Marco Rubio when speaking with a former colleague, Senator Chris Coons, stated words to the effect: 'When I was in Congress (a senator) I wanted white house consultation on matters of war. . . now I am in this job (secretary). . . and, well. . . .'
I saw this earlier and shared the article with a few people and family members.
Thank you for sharing it Nerm.
I am just going to ask what took so long for this recognition? They have been acting this way since at least March.
Inflection point reached?