On January 7, 2026, ICE agents murdered legal observer Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis. ICE was in this particular Minneapolis neighborhood as part of a warrantless immigration raid, a now common occurrence in the United States. Minneapolis is one of the cities targeted by the Trump administration as part of a politically motivated crackdown on “blue cities,” Democrat run cities that he has villainized as part of a fear mongering strategy for his base. Activists like Good are part of rapid response teams looking to defend their community against these kidnappings by ICE. They help warn community members and also document the many abuses of these agents. Unfortunately, Good was targeted as a result.
The fallout was immediate. Video of the murder went viral. In it, you can clearly see that Good was leaving the scene, something ICE commanded her to do, and driving away from the agents. An agent, who stood in front of her car as if to block her, reached out as she drove around him and shot, point blank range into the passenger side window, killing her instantly. ICE agents then blocked a doctor who was at the scene from providing any possible life saving aid. Good was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.
Within hours, this made national news and protests were called in every major city. It is expected that more protests will be coming during the week.
Minneapolis, having been ground zero for the movement around George Floyd, saw thousands of people come out into the streets. “The city is boiling now” said Ryan Perez from Comunidades Organizando El Poder Y La Accion Latina. As another large protest was being planned for Saturday, Mira Altobell-Resendez, an organizer with the Minneapolis Immigrant Rights Action Committee, vowed “Their violence will not deter us from defending our communities.”
Both the Mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, and governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz, have denounced the killing and promised an investigation. Tim Walz, currently being attacked politically by Trump, even mentioned bringing out the Minnesota National Guard to protect against ICE. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has blocked any real investigation. Both President Trump and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem came to the immediate defense of the ICE agent. From saying that Good was harassing agents, blocking traffic, or injuring the office involved in the shooting, pretty much any fabrication has been disproven by the video. Vice President JD Vance, in speaking to the press, noted that ICE agents have immunity for their actions, which is also untrue.
Whether these recent shootings are due to specific new rules of engagement, or violent individual decisions, sending these armed & hated forces into cities knowing they will not be held accountable by the DHS or the Department of Justice guarantees such events will happen. Kash Patel’s FBI excluding Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension from the investigation by blocking it from accessing evidence is a chilling sign of how far this immunity can go.
This is not the first time this has happened
Since the beginning of the very public ICE raids under Trump, federal agents of the Department of Homeland Security have routinely used excessive force to carry out their warrantless raids. A similar murder by ICE happened in Chicago. Silverio Villegas Gonzales, a cook from Chicago, was gunned down through the side window of his car while fleeing. Similarly, ICE shot at a family in Riverside, CA. A day later, they came back to the neighborhood and tried to get families to give them their phones in order to delete evidence. In trying to apprehend the popular streamer, Richard LA, ICE agents rammed his car and one shot him in the arm. So reckless was the apprehension that a US Marshall was also shot by an ICE Agent. As this article is written, Border Patrol has shot a couple in Portland, Oregon. This is only a fraction of the “officer-created peril” and violence. We must also acknowledge that 32 people died in immigration detention custody in 2025.
Just like with the murder of Nicole Good, DHS quickly defends the officers and lies about the situation. This is not only limited to shootings. Any form of violence committed by an ICE agent is excused as a necessary response to a supposed attack. Video evidence has always shown otherwise.
Such violence is the direct result of the dehumanization of an entire group of people by the Trump administration in particular and by the entire anti-immigrant movement as a whole. In addition, unrealistic quotas, poorly trained and vetted officers, and a purposeful lack of accountability have led to a situation where armed thugs are being let loose on some of the most vulnerable people in our society.
Response and Resistance
It is in this light that the courage of someone like Renee Nicole Goode comes to relief. Thousands of everyday people all over the country are taking it upon themselves to organize a response to these attacks against their communities. They are looking out for ICE, notifying communities, and in many cases, exercising their right to protest these injustices. More and more, ICE has resorted to intimidation of these activists. They frequently point their weapons at peaceful protesters and have sometimes dragged and run over them. Activists are routinely jailed, shot at with teargas, rubber bullets, tear gas, and other projectiles. In spite of all of this, they continue to come out peacefully.
While the Democrats have promised investigations and the Republicans stonewall, the reality is that both of these tactics serve to stall any form of justice for Renee. While the Trump administration has refused to release the name of the ICE officer who murdered her, online sleuths have already done so. Much like the George Floyd protests which brought down the Trump regime, justice can only be guaranteed by winning it in the streets. After all, it wasn’t just an attack against the immigrant community, it was an attack against anyone standing up to injustice. It is important that anyone that can come out to a protest, do so. But also, we must continue the work that Renee was doing and fight for the rights of immigrants and against the violent and racist agenda being pushed down on us. With that we say. Renee Nicole Good, Presente!
— Victor Fernandez
Image from video by MIRAC Immigrant Rights Action Committee, Minneapolis.
Marx21 US 