Gov. Hochul is pushing to keep the immigration agent who killed a Minneapolis woman out of New York.
The governor whipped off a letter to border czar Tom Homan demanding information about the reported “reassignment” of ICE agent Jonathan Ross, who has been named as the killer of unarmed mom Renee Nicole Good as she tried to drive away from the scene of an immigration raid in January.
“Reassigning Jonathan Ross is not accountability,” Hochul tweeted. “If he’s in New York, he must be removed immediately.”
In a two-page letter, Hochul called on the feds to permit an independent investigation into Ross’ role in Good’s shooting death.
“Agents involved in these type of incidents must be properly investigated and held accountable to the fullest extent of the law, not simply reassigned … or shuffled to other states,” Hochul wrote.
The White House and DHS didn’t immediately respond but federal authorities generally claim they have the right to deploy immigration agents where they deem necessary.
Hochul also mentioned the killing of Alex Pretti, a second U.S citizen slain during widespread protests last winter against the chaotic immigration crackdown in Minnesota ordered by President Trump.
The letter came after published reports this week said Ross had been reassigned to an unnamed state after being briefly put on administrative leave. Hochul aides said they don’t have any specific information that he could be in New York.
Ross has been effectively cleared of wrongdoing by federal officials who claimed there was no evidence to indicate he violated Good’s civil rights.
Minnesota state law enforcement say they have been barred from investigating the killing and blocked by the feds from collecting evidence.
Octavio JONES / AFP via Getty Images
Protesters gather to call for ICE to leave the community following the fatal shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis on January 8. (Photo by Octavio JONES / AFP via Getty Images)
Good, 37, was killed during a confrontation with Ross and other ICE agents on Jan. 7. Sitting in her car, she tried to drive away instead of getting out of the vehicle as officers ordered her to do.
Ross fired three shots that hit Good in the head and arm, videos showed. Trump and other officials defended the shooting, saying that Ross acted in self-defense. Then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem branded Good as a “domestic terrorist.”
Pretti, an intensive care nurse, was also protesting the immigration crackdown when he got into a scuffle with Border Patrol agents later in January. He was legally armed but the agents opened fire when they saw his weapon, killing him.
Like Ross, the officers implicated in Pretti’s killing appear to have escaped any legal accountability so far.
Hochul and Democratic state lawmakers are also pushing for a new package of sanctuary-like measures meant to rein in federal immigration enforcement in New York.
The governor has also recently met with Homan in hopes of avoiding a Minnesota-style crackdown in the Empire State.