As the situation in Minneapolis intensifies, students at Wayne State College face growing anxieties.
The nationwide coverage, which began after the death of Renee Nicole Good, has only become more prominent as the conflict between ICE and the citizens of Minneapolis persists.
On Jan. 7, Good was shot three times by ICE agent Johnathon Ross while in her SUV, and died as a result of a gunshot to the head.
The last words of the encounter were captured on a video Ross took on his cellphone, in which a male voice said “f—ing b—” shortly before Good lost control of the vehicle and crashed. She leaves behind a wife and three children.
Since then, protests and ICE action have continued to grow in response to one another.
A state-wide general strike led by unionists, activists and religious leaders began on Jan. 23 and anywhere from 50,000 to 100,000 protesters were estimated to have marched in subzero temperatures. Roughly 100 clergy members were arrested after aiding the blockade of a road leading to Terminal 1 of the Minnesota-St. Paul International Airport.
The MSP airport was targeted by protesters because it has become a hub for the Department of Homeland Security and uses flights to rapidly send detainees to detention centers across the country.
On Jan. 24, Alex Pretti was fatally shot by ICE while participating in a protest. Senators have called for investigation after DHS refused to release evidence when presented with a warrant. Current audio evidence from protesters counts ten distinct gunshots in a five second period.
DHS has claimed Pretti brandished a firearm, but video evidence and witness accounts have not verified the claim.
While the majority of ICE-based coverage continues to come out of Minneapolis, similar circumstances are also occurring in Los Angeles, California.
On Dec. 31, Keith Porter Jr was fatally shot by an off-duty ICE agent who claims he was involved in a shooting. An LAPD spokesperson agreed with the claim and said Porter fired gunshots into the air. Evidence capable of confirming or denying this claim has yet to be released to the public, but Porter’s family has disputed his involvement alongside local activists.
Since Porter’s death, multiple protests have been initiated, with reports of injuries and growing tensions coming out of both local news and social media.
One such example is Kayden Rummer, who was shot in the eye with a nonlethal round by an ICE agent during a protest on Jan. 9. Rummer underwent a six-hour surgery and will remain permanently blind in one eye.
The ongoing protests in both states have continued to fuel one another, showing solidarity between the movements and ICE’s power across the country.
This building tension creates stress for WSC students as they become more aware of the situations unfolding.
According to the official WSC website, the college has enrolled students from 57 countries, making the unstable environment shown in Minneapolis a personal issue for the campus.
While this initially only appears to impact those at WSC with student visas that could be put in question, it has the potential to affect everyone. On Sept. 8, The Supreme Court of the United States voted 6-3 in court case No. 25A169, overturning a federal judge’s order prohibiting DHS agents from using factors such as apparent ethnicity or race, workplace or spoken language as reasoning when stopping people. This decision means that if DHS started involvement at WSC, all students of color regardless of citizenship status could be detained, as well as students who work on farms, students who speak languages besides English or students who are perceived as Latino by officers.
Additionally the arrests of protesters across the country sets a possible precedent for students at WSC who fall outside of these categories being detained if they are perceived to be obstructing DHS.
While it’s not known if ICE will start raids in Wayne, there have been reported raids in both Omaha and Lincoln. The ice detention center in McCook, nicknamed “The Cornhusker Clink” also remains fully operational.
The history of DHS in the state paired with the possibilities of what intervention in Wayne could mean create a stressful environment for students at WSC.
As of 2025, 29-percent of undergraduates rate their mental health as below average, with political uncertainty being a contributing factor according to data from Insider Higher Ed.
At a time with an already worrying lack of stable mental health, college students now face additional stress factors that could worsen mental health and impact academic performances, as well as personal life.
While students experiencing stress are encouraged to contact the WSC Counseling Center for support, the importance of staying updated on current events is also important for students who are concerned about what situations happening nationally could mean at a local level in the future.
