The federal immigration officer whoshot and killed a woman in Minneapolisthis week is a U.S. Army veteran with deployments to Iraq and years of experience, newly released records show.
Jonathan Ross, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement removal officer based in Minnesota, told a court about his career in December, during the criminal trial of a man who dragged Ross with a car, badly cutting Ross' arm and hand.
Roberto Carlos Munoz-Guatemala, 40, attempted to flee in June 2025 when Ross approached him to serve an administrative warrant on behalf of ICE.
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Ross told the court he served in the Indiana National Guard and deployed from 2004 to 2005 to Iraq as a machine gunner on a gun truck and served on a combat logistical patrol team, delivering essential supplies in dangerous areas.
An Indiana National Guard spokesman confirmed Ross served in the Army National Guard from 2002 to 2008 and deployed to Iraq from November 2004 to November 2005 with the 138th Signal Battalion.
One person was killed in a shooting involving a federal immigration agent in Minneapolis, Minnesota, officials said. Minneapolis Gov. Tim Walz said on Jan. 7 that the shooting involved U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has surged agents into the Minneapolis area amid a broader federal crackdown on fraud in the state. Here, a member of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) restrains a protester trying to block vehicles from leaving the scene after a driver of a vehicle was shot." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 
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One person was killed ina shooting involvinga federal immigration agent in Minneapolis, Minnesota, officials said. Minneapolis Gov.Tim Walzsaid on Jan. 7that the shooting involved U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has surged agents into the Minneapolis area amid a broader federal crackdown on fraud in the state. Here, a member of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) restrains a protester trying to block vehicles from leaving the scene after a driver of a vehicle was shot.
The spokesman noted he earned the Army Commendation Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, Global War on Terrorism Medal and the Iraq Campaign Medal during the deployment.
After that, he joined U.S. Customs and Border Protection and was assigned to a job near El Paso, Texas. He said he patrolled the border, tracked border crossers and served as a field intelligence agent. He worked on the border from 2007 to 2015 and learned Spanish.
In 2015 he joined ICE and joined Enforcement and Removal Operations as a deportation officer. He mentioned he is a current member of the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force based in St. Paul, Minnesota.
"I am a firearms instructor, an active shooter instructor," Ross told the court Dec. 8 at the trial. "I'm also a field intelligence officer and I am a member of the SWAT team, the St. Paul Special Response Team."
Ross described the incident with Munoz-Guatemala. In that operation in June, he said, he drove his unmarked gold Chevy Tahoe. Ross is shown arriving in a vehicle of that description in videos circulating of this week's shooting. Ross immediately left the scene in Minneapolis after the fatal shooting.
Attorneys asked Ross about the June incident where he was dragged and deployed a Taser against Munoz-Guatemala.
"At this point I feared for my life. And the only thing I had in the – in my left tools to use was my Taser. So I quickly drew my Taser," Ross said at the December trial.
Ross had a cut to his right arm requiring 20 stitches and a cut to his left hand requiring 13 stitches, according to court documents.
A Minnesota federal jury found Munoz-Guatemala guilty in December of assault on a federal officer with a dangerous or deadly weapon and resulting in bodily injury.
Munoz-Guatemala was charged in 2022 with repeatedly sexually abusing a minor victim. He was ultimately convicted of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct, a felony offense, according to the Department of Justice.
Officials declined to independently name Ross in the Jan. 7 shooting, but said he had at least 10 years of experience as an ICE officer and served on the agency's Special Response Team.
"We are not going to expose the name of this officer. He acted according to his training," wrote Tricia McLaughlin, the Homeland Security spokeswoman in a statement to USA TODAY.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:ICE officer in shooting, Jonathan Ross, was Iraq vet, ex-Border Patrol