Anti-ICE protests across U.S. demand justice in Good’s death : NPR

People across the United States protested immigration enforcement tactics this weekend following the death of Renee Good in Minneapolis, a 37-year-old woman who was shot and killed by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer earlier this week.

Nationwide Demonstrations

At least 1,000 events were planned for Saturday and Sunday across the U.S., according to Indivisible, a progressive grassroots coalition coordinating what it calls the “ICE Out For Good Weekend of Action.”

Leah Greenberg, a co-executive director of Indivisible, said people are coming together to “grieve, honor those we’ve lost, and demand accountability from a system that has operated with impunity for far too long.”

“Renee Nicole Good was a wife, a mother of three, and a member of her community. She, and the dozens of other sons, daughters, friends, siblings, parents, and community members who have been killed by ICE, should be alive today,” Greenberg said in a statement on Friday. “ICE’s violence is not a statistic, it has names, families, and futures attached to it, and we refuse to look away or stay silent.”

Protests in Minneapolis

Large crowds of demonstrators carried signs and chanted “ICE out now!” as protests continued in Minneapolis on Saturday. One protestor, Cameron Kritikos, expressed concern that an increased ICE presence could lead to further violence.

“If more ICE officers are deployed to the streets, especially a place here where there’s very clear public opposition to the terrorizing of our neighborhoods, I’m nervous that there’s going to be more violence,” Kritikos said. “I’m nervous that there are going to be more clashes with law enforcement officials, and at the end of the day I think that’s not what anyone wants.”

Hundreds of city and state police officers responded to a “noise protest” in downtown Minneapolis on Friday night. Approximately 1,000 people gathered, and 29 arrests were made, according to Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara. Demonstrators protested outside hotels where ICE agents were believed to be staying, chanting, playing drums, and banging pots. Police reported damage to hotel windows and one officer was injured by a thrown piece of ice.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey condemned the violence but praised the peaceful nature of the majority of protesters. He wrote on social media, “To anyone who causes property damage or puts others in danger: you will be arrested. We are standing up to Donald Trump’s chaos not with our own brand of chaos, but with care and unity.”

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin stated that the First Amendment protects peaceful assembly, but not rioting, assault, or destruction, and that DHS is taking measures to uphold the rule of law and protect public safety.

Good was fatally shot the day after DHS launched a large-scale immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota, deploying 2,000 immigration officers to the state.

Protests in Other Cities

In Philadelphia, police reported approximately 500 demonstrators participated in a cooperative and peaceful march that began Saturday morning at City Hall, with no arrests made. In Portland, Ore., demonstrators rallied outside a hospital where immigration enforcement agents bring detainees who are injured during arrest.

A man and woman were shot and injured by U.S. Border Patrol agents in Portland on Thursday. DHS said the shooting occurred during a targeted vehicle stop and identified the individuals as Luis David Nino-Moncada and Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras, both from Venezuela. Homeland Security officials claimed the agent acted in self-defense after Nino-Moncada and Zambrano-Contreras “weaponized their vehicle.”