Toxic empathy vs. the rule of law

A couple of days ago in Minneapolis, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were conducting a lawful immigration operation when Renee Nicole Macklin Good allegedly weaponized her vehicle in an attempt to run over federal agents. An ICE agent fatally shot Good in what the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) described as self-defense. The investigation is ongoing, and body camera footage has yet to be released (at the time of this writing).

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey immediately blamed federal agents for the shooting, telling ICE, in an expletive, to “get out of Minneapolis” and accusing them of sowing chaos. This despite the fact that ICE agents were performing their constitutional duty to enforce immigration laws — the same laws that apply in every state, including Minnesota.

The Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association condemned the “irresponsible” and “reckless rhetoric from political leaders attacking law enforcement,” stating it “has real and dangerous consequences for officers on the street” and “fuels hostility.” DHS reports a 1,300% increase in assaults and an 8,000% increase in death threats against ICE agents — directly linked to the demonization by sanctuary politicians in deep-blue cities and states.

Border Czar Tom Homan refused to pre-judge the incident, emphasizing the need for a full investigation, including body camera footage, before drawing conclusions.

So, how should Christians think about all of this?

First, reckless rhetoric from Left-wing leaders is endangering law enforcement and undermining the rule of law

Mayor Frey’s inflammatory response is dangerous. When elected officials vilify federal agents who are enforcing the law, they create an environment where violence against law enforcement becomes justified in the minds of agitators and anarchists.

Make no mistake: ICE agents risk injury or death while performing their duty. These are not rogue actors. They are federal law enforcement officers executing immigration laws passed by Congress and upheld by the courts. When politicians like Frey demonize them, they fuel the very hostility that leads to incidents like this.

A 1,300% increase in assaults and an overwhelming increase in death threats against ICE agents didn’t happen in a vacuum. It happened because Left-wing politicians and the Left-wing media have made federal immigration enforcement a villain rather than recognizing it as the legitimate exercise of governmental authority. When you repeatedly call people Nazis, don’t be surprised when your supporters believe you and act accordingly.

Second, federal agents have a constitutional duty to enforce immigration laws nationwide — no city is exempt

As Brit Hume observed, “These ICE agents had every right to be there and had a duty to be there. They are this nation’s enforcers of the immigration laws. There’s no evidence here they weren’t doing their job or doing it improperly.”

The same Constitution that governs Texas, Florida, and Georgia also governs California, New York, and Minnesota. Local mayors don’t get to declare their cities autonomous zones exempt from federal law. They don’t get to treat American cities like independent city-states where the U.S. Constitution doesn’t apply.

Mayor Frey’s statement is reckless and irresponsible precisely because it suggests that Minneapolis operates under different rules. It doesn’t. Federal immigration law applies uniformly across all 50 states. When ICE agents enforce that law in Minneapolis, they’re doing exactly what they’re authorized and required to do.

Third, Minneapolis’s history of anti-authority chaos is repeating itself under soft-on-crime leadership

Let’s not forget: Minneapolis under Mayor Frey was ground zero for the 2020 Black Lives Matter (BLM) riots that metastasized across the country. Over $500 million in property destruction and over $200 million in uninsured losses to small businesses happened in that city, and let’s not forget the burning out of the Third Precinct police station that also happened during the BLM riots.

These weren’t federal agents causing chaos. These were Marxists and anarchists who had a problem with any authority, local or federal. Their view of utopia resembles the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror, where violence and anarchy are celebrated as “social justice” in the name of “protest.”

The same anti-authority mindset that burned Minneapolis in 2020 is at work today. When Department of Homeland Security (DHS) describes Macklin Good as “weaponizing her vehicle” to run over an agent and agitators are blocking lawful operations, we’re witnessing opposition to authority itself — not opposition to specific policies.

Fourth, while tragic, Macklin Good’s death is the fault of no one but herself

When law enforcement of any kind asks you to step out of your vehicle, you obey. This is incredibly basic, but if actually followed, the number of fatalities at the hands of law enforcement would drop to virtually zero. When police stop you, you do not try to run away and you certainly should not try to hit those officers with your vehicle.

This tragedy was entirely avoidable, but because a mother decided her duty to obstruct law enforcement, try to flee, and accelerate straight at them superseded her duty to comply, she is now dead.

Christians must recognize what’s at stake here. Scripture is clear: “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to the governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right” (1 Peter 2:13-14).

This doesn’t mean government is infallible or beyond critique. We have critiqued government numerous times, but it does mean that legitimate governmental authority — including federal immigration enforcement — deserves respect and obedience unless it commands us to sin.

The loss of Renee Nicole Macklin Good’s life is tragic. Every human life bears the image of God, and her death should grieve all of us. But we must also recognize that when someone attempts to weaponize a vehicle against law enforcement — whether at a traffic stop or during an immigration operation — there can be severe and potentially lethal consequences. This is not complicated. This is basic cause and effect.

The social justice mindset has rotted people’s minds to the point where they no longer understand truth, justice, consequences, or personal responsibility. Toxic empathy has replaced biblical realism. We feel bad about outcomes while refusing to acknowledge that actions have consequences.

Christians must stop the insanity of toxic empathy. We need a healthy dose of biblical realism: If you attack law enforcement, if you weaponize your vehicle against federal agents, you may be met with lethal force. That’s not injustice. That’s law enforcement protecting their lives while performing their duty.

Politicians who win local mayoral elections don’t have the right to make their own laws that contradict the Constitution. They don’t get to set up independent autonomous zones where federal law doesn’t apply. And Christians cannot side with lawlessness — I don’t care who you are — simply because the left frames law enforcement as the enemy.

The full investigation will reveal what happened, and body camera footage will provide clarity. Until then, we should not rush to judgment. But what we can say now is this: ICE agents have every right and duty to enforce immigration laws, even in Minneapolis. Mayor Frey’s inflammatory rhetoric endangers all officers. And Christians must stand for the rule of law while rejecting the toxic empathy that excuses violence against authority.

Pray for law enforcement who risk their lives daily. Pray for Macklin Good’s family. Pray for wisdom for our leaders. And pray for a return to sanity in our cities where the rule of law — not the rule of the mob — prevails.

Originally published at the Standing for Freedom Center.