No.

Federal officials, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, do not have absolute immunity from state prosecution. 

Vice President JD Vance claimed agent Jonathan Ross, who fatally shot Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, has absolute immunity because he was engaged in a federal law enforcement action. Although federal officials have some constitutional shields against state prosecution, the immunity isn’t absolute.

An analysis published by the University of Wisconsin Law School says a constitutional principle known as the Supremacy Clause doctrine protects federal officials against prosecution when they are “reasonably acting within the bounds of lawful federal duties.” Going beyond the scope of duties, violation of federal law or egregious or unwarranted behavior can open doors for state prosecution.

As MinnPost reported, any state or local attempt to prosecute Ross would likely face opposition from the Trump administration. But the federal government is unlikely to be able to outright stop it.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

MinnPost partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.

Sources

• University of Wisconsin Law School Explainer: Can States Prosecute Federal Officials?
• MinnPost Yes, state and local prosecutors can charge federal law enforcement agents with crimes. But it isn’t easy

The post Does the ICE agent who killed Renee Good have immunity from state prosecution? appeared first on MinnPost.

This post was shared from MinnPost.