Fact Check: Did 2K ICE officers walk off their jobs in protest against Trump's policies?

The claim surfaced amid the intensifying protests in Minneapolis following the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good
PUBLISHED JAN 22, 2026
Rumor spread online that 2K ICE officers walked off their jobs protesting Trump (Getty Images)
Rumor spread online that 2K ICE officers walked off their jobs protesting Trump (Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC: A claim has been circulating online that thousands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers surrendered their guns and walked off the job to protest President Donald Trump’s immigration polices. The claim gained traction on social media, prompting questions about its authenticity. Let us fact-check the claim.

Claim: Thousands of ICE agents resign from job in protest against Donald Trump 

(World Reports Now/Facebook)
Post claims 2000 ICE agents surrendered their guns and resigned their jobs in protest against Trump’s immigration polices (World Reports Now/Facebook)

The claim spread this month that more than 2000 ICE agents surrendered their guns and resigned their jobs in protest against Trump’s immigration polices. 

The claim spread on social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram.

The claim surfaced amid the intensifying protests in Minneapolis following the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent identified as Jonathan Ross during an immigration crackdown in the city.

Fact Check: The claim is false

But a Google search for the keyword generated no results on a crediblity of the report posted by a news outlet. If more than 2,000 ICE agents had indeed walked off the job, the event would have made headlines. 

Also, the earliest version of the claim available online was not from a credible source, and the different versions of the claim showed clear signs of AI-generated content. 

Hence, it is clear that the claim is not true. 

The claim appeared to originate from a YouTube page called 'Defeat Trump Network', which was posted on January 11, with the title, 'WOW: 2000 ICE Cops SURRENDER THEIR GUNS and WALK OUT ON TRUMP this afternoon?!'

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - JANUARY 14: Federal agents guard a perimeter following a shooting incident as angry residents protest their presence in the city on January 14, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. According to reports, a federal agent shot a Venezuelan man who was resisting arrest. The Trump administration has sent a reported 2,000 federal plus federal agents into the area, with more on the way, as they make a push to arrest undocumented immigrants in the region. The Trump administration has sent a reported 2,000 federal plus federal agents into the area, with more on the way, as they make a push to arrest undocumented immigrants in the region. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Federal agents guard a perimeter following a shooting incident as angry residents protest their presence in the city on January 14, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minnesota (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

However, the actual content of the video does not include anything about ICE officers supposedly surrendering their guns and walking off their jobs in protest of Trump's immigration policies. 

Rather, the video is a remix of legitimate footage by reputable news outlets that did not concern the claim. 

The description of the video included an MSN link to an op-ed that claimed 'a growing number of former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are coming forward, exposing the disturbing work conditions and internal pressure that led to their resignations.'

However, nowhere in the MSN story did the author state anything about the claim in question. 

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