Since ICE has ramped up its presence in Minnesota in the last few weeks — with dangerous and even lethal results — many people have been asking if ICE officers will face any consequences. After an ICE officer fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis on January 7, Vice President JD Vance claimed that the officer, Jonathan Ross, is “protected by absolute immunity” from criminal prosecution for the killing. And while Good’s family could potentially file a civil lawsuit, that could be a challenging path as well.
For insight into the potential legal aftermath of Good’s killing, and the wider landscape of DOJ responses to death at the hands of law enforcement, I reached out to former Department of Justice pardon attorney Liz Oyer.
Liz’s Substack is Lawyer Oyer which tracks legal news and pardon statistics. In this conversation, we discussed why JD Vance’s claim of absolute immunity for ICE agents is out of step with Supreme Court case law, and how the increasingly controversial doctrine of qualified immunity has made it all but impossible for law enforcement officers to be held accountable for violations of the law.
You’ll also hear about the current administration’s use of the pardon power as a pay-to-play scheme, and how pardons are actually meant to be issued based on Oyer’s years of experience as a pardon attorney within the Department of Justice.
Press play for all this and more.
