The tragedy that unfolded Wednesday as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed a woman in Minnesota who appeared to be driving at him should never have happened. Democrat politicians, looking to take every action to impede immigration enforcement absolutely created the conditions over the past year for what transpired.

The initial reaction to the incident by the most prominent Minnesota officials, Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, both Democrats, was horrendous, of course.

Frey decided to make his news conference one long, profanity-laced tirade blaming the entire incident on ICE. I'd post a clip here, but I can't because this is a family-friendly website.

"To ICE: Get the f—out of Minneapolis," he said at one point.

His harangue was at best unbecoming of a mayor, at worst inflammatory.

Walz was somehow worse. He decided that this was his Confederate cosplay moment. He said, "We've never been at war with our federal government," suggesting that maybe now was the time. He then said that the National Guard could be used against "rogue" federal agents.

Vice President JD Vance on Thursday rightfully called the soon-to-be former Minnesota governor's leadership a "joke."

"The idea that he's some sort of freedom fighter, he's not," Vance said. "He's the guy who has enabled fraud and maybe, in fact, has participated in fraud."

How Walz and Frey handled the ICE shooting isn't surprising, it's just part of a pattern for Democrats who've decided after four years of open borders policies under ...Joe Biden they would do everything they could to stop enforcement of immigration law.

The conditions for such an incident to occur in have absolutely been fueled not just by professional leftwing agitators but Democrat politicians like Frey, Walz, and many others.

They have signaled to the country that it's OK to impede federal authorities when they are carrying out the law, not just with "sanctuary" policies but through direct impediments.

Back in May, Rep. Lamonica McIver, D-NJ, not only tried to force her way into a New Jersey ICE facility with a mob and she was accused of assaulting a police officer.

McIver has been charged with assault, a case that is still ongoing after a judge refused to grant her legislative immunity.

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander got into a physical confrontation with ICE officers. The Department of Homeland Security said that Lander assaulted their officers, but no charges were ultimately filed.

Democrats have essentially signaled that the actions of ICE agents carrying out the law are illegitimate and that it's fine to impede their operations. And that's the messaging that they are going with in Minnesota and elsewhere.

It's no wonder that attacks on ICE agents have exploded over the last year. The Department of Homeland Security released some of the shocking numbers.

"We are seeing a coordinated campaign of violence against our law enforcement particularly in Minneapolis," DHS posted on X. "Dangerous criminals–whether they be illegal aliens or US citizens–are turning their vehicles into weapons to attack ICE. The brave men and women of DHS law enforcement will not be deterred and will continue arresting the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens."

I agree with conservative commentator Scott Jennings, Democrats have put both federal agents and the public at risk with their constant comparisons of ICE to the Gestapo and jumping to call them "murderers." (Screengrab image: via X-Scott Jennings)

The problem is not the crimes that have been committed by people illegally crossing the border, it's that the Trump administration is enforcing the laws on the books, Democrats reason. So, when tragedies like what took place in Minnesota on Wednesday take place, they've placed all the blame on Trump and the federal government.

Keep in mind, Democrats could make the case to change immigration laws but knowing that most of the country will be against that, they've turned to making enforcement as big of a mess as they can.

And when you combine that with the generally lax treatment of protesters who've broken the law and have gotten out of line, you can see the seeds of what happened on Wednesday. It was only a matter of time before an anti-ICE activist threatened an officer and ended up in a deadly situation.

So here we are. A mother is dead, Minneapolis is in chaos, and the country is on edge, all because Democrats needed their narrative. Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

Jarrett Stepman is a columnist for The Daily Signal. He is also the author of "The War on History: The Conspiracy to Rewrite America's Past."

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