Philadelphia Sheriff Warns ICE Agents Who Break The Law Of Arrest : ‘You Don’t Want This Smoke’
Written by b87fm on 01/12/2026
There will be no “brotherly love” for ICE agents operating unlawfully in Philadelphia—at least not according to Sheriff Rochelle Bilal.
On Thursday, Bilal, a 27-year veteran of the Philadelphia Police Department, issued a blunt and highly charged warning to Immigration and Customs Enforcement during a fiery press conference. Her remarks followed the fatal shooting of Renee Good, a Minneapolis woman who was shot in the face by an ICE agent earlier this week.
Bilal opened the event by demanding recognition of Good’s death.
“Say her name. Renee Good. Renee Good. Renee Good,” she said.
She then sharply criticized ICE, questioning both its tactics and legitimacy.
“Law enforcement professionals—real ones, not the fake made-up ICE, probably Trump’s new army to attack citizens of the United States—no law enforcement professional wears a mask. None,” Bilal said. “Law enforcement professionals do not shoot at moving vehicles. Law enforcement professionals do not stand in front of moving vehicles invoking action that is illegal.”
Bilal made it clear that Philadelphia will not provide cover for federal agents who violate the law within city limits. She said any ICE agents who commit crimes in Philadelphia will be arrested by her office and charged by local prosecutors.
“If any of them want to come in this city and commit a crime, you will not be able to hide, nobody will whisk you off,” Bilal warned. “You don’t want this smoke because we will bring it to you.”
She also took direct aim at President Donald Trump, stating that “the criminal in the White House would not be able to keep” ICE agents from going to jail if they break the law in Philadelphia.
Federal officials have pushed back forcefully against Bilal’s framing of the Minneapolis shooting. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and other Trump administration officials have characterized the incident as self-defense, alleging that Good used her vehicle as a weapon against the agent.
“An officer of ours acted quickly, and defensively shot to protect himself and the people around him,” Noem said.
The Department of Homeland Security echoed that position in a statement posted to X, claiming ICE officers were conducting targeted operations when “rioters” intervened.
“One of these violent rioters weaponized her vehicle, attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them—an act of domestic terrorism,” DHS stated.
The sharply conflicting accounts have intensified national scrutiny of ICE operations and raised broader questions about federal authority, local law enforcement autonomy, and the use of force. For Sheriff Bilal, however, the message was unmistakable: Philadelphia will not look the other way.
