Thousands of demonstrators rallied in Minneapolis and cities across the United States after a federal immigration agent fatally shot Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother, in the city this week — a killing that has intensified outrage over the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and the tactics of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Organizers said more than 1,000 events were planned nationwide under the slogan “ICE, Out for Good,” a dual reference to the agency and to Good. In Minneapolis, protesters braved frigid temperatures and streamed toward a snow-covered park near the shooting scene, many carrying signs demanding “ICE OUT” of Minnesota and chanting, “Say her name!” The reply thundered back: “Renee Good!”
- Advertisement -
Her death has become a flash point in a Democratic stronghold and beyond, drawing demonstrators from Boston to Philadelphia and New York to Washington. Crowds ranged from dozens to hundreds, and organizers said more actions were planned for the following day. The calls to mobilize were amplified by the “No Kings” movement, a network of left-leaning groups that mounted nationwide demonstrations against President Donald Trump last year.
Good was shot Wednesday by an ICE agent during an encounter on a Minneapolis street. The Trump White House has sought to portray Good as a “domestic terrorist” and maintains the agent fired in self-defense. Local officials dispute that account, saying footage shows Good’s vehicle turning away from the agent and not presenting a lethal threat.
Cellphone video apparently recorded by the officer who fired the shots shows him circling Good’s car after she blocked the road, apparently to impede the agents. As he approaches, Good says, “I’m not mad at you.” Another agent orders her to exit the vehicle. She appears to try to drive off and several shots are heard. The clip does not clearly show the moment the car moves away or the firing itself. The White House said the video supports the officer’s claim of self-defense.
Outrage over the shooting has spilled into the streets nationwide. “We got ICE shooting women in the face for self-defense. It doesn’t make any sense,” said Alex Vega, a protester in Boston. “Let them come around here with that, and let’s see what’s really going to happen to ICE.”
In Minneapolis, demonstrator Drew Lenzmeier, 30, said he marched because “our rights are being taken away from us and we are turning into an authoritarian dictatorship. No one is stopping the Trump administration from now murdering citizens and stealing, kidnapping human beings. It’s time to stop.”
On Friday evening, hundreds gathered in front of downtown hotels believed to be housing ICE agents, banging drums, blowing whistles and blasting music. Police said several people were arrested and quickly released.
Officials and residents in Minnesota expressed concern that local law enforcement agencies have been shut out of the FBI investigation into the Minneapolis shooting, underscoring tensions between federal authorities and city and state leaders over accountability and transparency.
According to The Trace, a media outlet that tracks gun violence, Good is the fourth person killed by federal immigration agents since the start of Trump’s deportation push; seven others have been injured. In a separate incident Thursday in Portland, Oregon, two people were wounded by shots fired by federal border officers during a traffic stop.
The Minneapolis killing and the cascade of protests have become a stress test for the nation’s immigration enforcement strategy and the communities living with it. As more demonstrations roll out, activists are focusing on a single message that has galvanized the movement from the Midwest to the coasts: end the raids, end the shootings, and get ICE “out for good.”
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
