Two ICE-related shootings spark protests across the US
Protests continued in cities across the country after two ICE-related shootings in separate parts of the country.
The federal immigration officer who shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis this week is a U.S. Army veteran with deployments to Iraq and years of experience, newly released records show.
Jonathan Ross, a Minnesota-based Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, spoke about his background in court during the criminal trial of the man who dragged Ross with his car in December and severely severed her arm and hand.
Roberto Carlos Muñoz, 40, of Guatemala, tried to flee in June 2025 when Ross approached him to execute an administrative warrant on ICE’s behalf.
Ross told the court he served in the Indiana National Guard and was deployed to Iraq from 2004 to 2005 as a gun truck machine gunner, serving on a combat logistics patrol team and delivering supplies to dangerous areas.
An Indiana National Guard spokesperson confirmed that Ross served in the Army National Guard from 2002 to 2008 and was deployed to Iraq with the 138th Signal Battalion from November 2004 to November 2005.
During his deployment, he earned the Army Commendation Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, Global War on Terrorism Medal and Iraq Operations Medal, a spokesperson said.
He then joined U.S. Customs and Border Protection and was assigned to a job near El Paso, Texas. He said he patrolled the border, tracked border crossers and acted as a field intelligence officer. He worked at the border from 2007 to 2015 and learned Spanish.
In 2015, he joined ICE and joined deportation operations as a deportation officer. He said he is a current member of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, based in St. Paul, Minn.
“I’m a firearms instructor and an active marksmanship instructor,” Ross told the court during the Dec. 8 hearing. “I’m also a field intelligence officer and a member of the SWAT team, the St. Paul Special Response Team.”
Mr. Ross explained the Muñoz Guatemala incident. He said he drove an unmarked gold Chevrolet Tahoe during the June operation. Video of the shooting that circulated this week shows Ross arriving in such a vehicle. Ross left the scene in Minneapolis shortly after the shooting.
Lawyers questioned Ross about an incident in June in which he was dragged and had a Taser fired during a match against Muñoz Guatemala.
“At this point, I felt like my life was in danger, and the only tool I had left that I could use was a Taser, so I immediately pulled it out,” Ross said during the December trial.
According to court documents, Ross suffered a cut on his right arm that required 20 stitches and a cut on his left hand that required 13 stitches.
A federal jury in Minnesota convicted Muñoz Guatemala in December of assaulting a federal officer with a dangerous or deadly weapon and causing bodily harm.
Muñoz Guatemala was indicted in 2022 for repeatedly sexually abusing underage victims. He was ultimately convicted of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct, a felony, according to the Department of Justice.
Authorities declined to name Ross specifically in the Jan. 7 shooting, but said he had at least 10 years of experience as an ICE agent and was part of the agency’s special response team.
“We are not releasing this officer’s name. He acted in accordance with his training,” Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to USA TODAY.
