The Introspective

The week ended with immigration shootings, foreign policy escalations, and a slowing labor market.

Trump’s 51st week ended with updates to immigration, Minnesota, international tensions and the economy. Following a previous report detailing U.S. citizen Renee Good being shot and killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Minneapolis, two additional people were shot and injured in Portland, Oregon, with federal officials alleging the pair “weaponized their vehicle” against ICE agents.

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) later suspended $129 million in federal payments to Minnesota amid ongoing anti-immigrant sentiment, following a previous Introspective report detailing alleged fraud within the state’s Somali population. At the same time, District Judge Arun Subramanian blocked the Department of Health and Human Services from freezing $10 billion in social services funding to five states.

As global tensions continued to rise, Trump said the United States would acquire Greenland “whether they like it or not,” raising implications as the U.S. launched another airstrike against ISIS targets in Syria, following a previous Introspective report detailing two American soldiers and a civilian being killed in an attack by the terrorist group.

The Trump administration later withdrew the United States from more than 66 international organizations, including 31 associated with the United Nations and others focused on climate change and international peacebuilding. Meanwhile, as the trade war and economic uncertainty continued, hiring slowed in December, with 50,000 jobs added during the month compared with 64,000 in November.

Immigration, Minnesota, and Funding

Following a previous report from The Introspective detailing U.S. citizen Renee Good being shot and killed by ICE in Minneapolis, agents shot and injured two people in Portland, Oregon, with federal officials alleging the pair “weaponized” their car and were members of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua.

“Only one day after an ICE officer was almost run over in Minneapolis, two vicious Tren de Aragua gang members — let loose on American streets by Joe Biden — weaponized their vehicle against Border Patrol in Portland,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a press release.

“The agent took immediate action to defend himself and others, shooting them. Thankfully, no law enforcement was injured as these criminals fled.”

The people shot were identified as Luis David Nino-Moncada and Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras, with Nino-Moncada now in FBI custody.

Portland Police Chief Bob Day confirmed the two had “some nexus to involvement with Tren de Aragua,” including a prior shooting in Portland in July.

“Whether they were involved, I do not know. As far as I am aware, they haven’t been named as suspects; they haven’t been charged in it,” he said.

He later became emotional and hesitant to share additional information regarding their criminal histories, alleging victim blaming.

“This information in no way is meant to disparage or to condone or support or agree with any of the actions that occurred yesterday,” he continued.

“But it is important that we stay committed to the rule of law, that we stay committed to the facts.”

The Trump administration later suspended $129 million in federal benefit payments to Minnesota, following a previous report from The Introspective detailing alleged fraud within the state’s Somali population.

“Despite a staggering, wide-reaching fraud scandal, your administration refuses to provide basic information or take common-sense measures to stop fraud,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins wrote in a letter posted to X.

“The Trump administration refuses to allow such fraud to continue.”

In a statement obtained by The Introspective, the city of Minneapolis said leadership was working with state partners to “understand the impacts of such a blanket cut to funding meant for residents most in need.”

“What’s abundantly clear is that Minneapolis is the latest target of the Trump administration— willing to harm Americans in service to its perceived political gain,” the statement read.

Meanwhile, following a previous Introspective report detailing the Trump administration pausing $10 billion in social services funding for five states—including Minnesota, New York, California, Illinois and Colorado—District Judge Arun Subramanian temporarily blocked the freeze, with the order lasting 14 days.

District Judge Arun Subramanian Pause

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Greenland and Syria

With global tensions rising, Trump said the U.S. will control Greenland—which is governed by Denmark—“whether they like it or not.”

“Because if we don’t do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland, and we’re not going to have Russia or China as a neighbor,” Trump said Friday.

Jacob Isbosethsen, Greenland’s head of representation to the United States, said the island is “not for sale.”

“Greenland is not for sale. I think our Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and our Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt have made it very, very clear. Our country belongs to the Greenlandic people,” he said.

The comments come as Trump previously threatened to take military action to acquire Greenland, a notion House Speaker Mike Johnson has since dismissed.

“I don’t think anybody’s seriously considering that. And in the Congress, we’re certainly not,” he said Wednesday.

However, Vice President J.D. Vance echoed Trump’s claims, telling people to take the president at his word.

“I guess my advice to European leaders and anybody else would be to take the president of the United States seriously,” he said.

“No. 1, Greenland is really important, not just to America’s missile defense, but to the world’s missile defense. No. 2, we know that there are hostile adversaries that have shown a lot of interest in that particular territory, that particular slice of the world.”

Meanwhile, following airstrikes in December, the U.S. launched another airstrike against ISIS targets in Syria, following a previous Introspective report detailing two American soldiers and a civilian being killed in an attack by the terrorist group.

“The strikes today targeted ISIS throughout Syria as part of our ongoing commitment to root out Islamic terrorism against our warfighters, prevent future attacks, and protect American and partner forces in the region,” U.S. Central Command wrote in a press release.

“Our message remains strong: If you harm our warfighters, we will find you and kill you anywhere in the world, no matter how hard you try to evade justice.”

In a post on X, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth celebrated the strikes, writing, “We will never forget, and never relent.”

United Nations and Economy

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the U.S. withdrew from more than 66 international organizations—31 affiliated with the United Nations—writing in a press release that the Trump administration “has found these institutions to be redundant in their scope, mismanaged, unnecessary, wasteful, poorly run, captured by the interests of actors advancing their own agendas contrary to our own, or a threat to our nation’s sovereignty, freedoms and general prosperity.”

“We will not continue expending resources, diplomatic capital and the legitimizing weight of our participation in institutions that are irrelevant to or in conflict with our interests,” he wrote.

“We reject inertia and ideology in favor of prudence and purpose. We seek cooperation where it serves our people and will stand firm where it does not.”

The announcement follows an executive order signed by Trump titled “Withdrawing the United States from International Organizations, Conventions and Treaties That Are Contrary to the Interests of the United States,” which directed Rubio to review “all international intergovernmental organizations of which the United States is a member and provides any type of funding or other support.”

The decision to withdraw caused backlash in the international community, with Ben Saul, the U.N. special rapporteur on counterterrorism and human rights, saying the U.S. is “further isolating itself.”

“This move weakens efforts to forge cooperative global solutions to common human challenges,” he wrote on X.

At the same time, as impacts from the trade war and broader economic uncertainty continued, a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) found hiring slowed in December, with 50,000 jobs added during the month compared with 64,000 in November. The report also found 2025 saw the weakest job growth since 2003, with 584,000 jobs added last year.

Further research from Challenger, Gray & Christmas found layoffs declined in December compared with November and were down 8% from a year earlier.

“The year closed with the fewest announced layoff plans all year. While December is typically slow, this coupled with higher hiring plans is a positive sign after a year of high job-cutting plans,” Chief Operating Officer Andy Challenger said in a report.