ICE Agent Fatally Shoots Minneapolis Mother, Renee Good

This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org. I'm Amy Goodman.

And I'm Nermeen Shaikh. Welcome to our listeners and viewers across the country and around the world. In Minneapolis, thousands gathered for a candlelight vigil Wednesday evening to mourn the death of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good, a mother of three who was fatally shot hours earlier by an ICE agent at near point-blank range. Video of the shooting shows masked ICE agents approaching her vehicle, screaming for her

to get out of the effing car, using profanity, and attempting to force open her driver's side door. As Good attempts to drive past the officers, a masked agent pulls his firearm and fires three rounds at Good. The shooting comes after the Trump administration deployed over 2,000 ICE agents to Minnesota.

Trump administration officials claim the agent acted in self-defense, but local officials, including Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Fry, rejected that claim. This is Mayor Frey speaking Wednesday.

We've dreaded this moment since the early stages of this ICE presence in Minneapolis. They are not here to cause safety in this city. What they are doing is not to provide safety in America. What they are doing is causing chaos and distrust. They're ripping families apart, they're sowing chaos on our streets, and in this case, quite literally killing people. They are already trying to spin this as an action of self-defense. Having seen the video of

myself, I want to tell everybody directly that is bull. This was an agent recklessly using power that resulted in somebody dying, getting killed. There's little I can say, again, that will make this situation better, but I do have a message for our community, for our city, and I have a message for ICE. To ICE, get the fuck out of Minneapolis. We do not want you here.

According to press accounts, Renee Nicole Good was shot shortly after she dropped her six-year-old son at school. She was killed less than a mile from the site of George Floyd's murder in 2020 by a Minneapolis police officer, a killing that sparked protests internationally under the banner Black Lives Matter. Democratic lawmakers have accused President Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi

Noem of spreading misinformation about the shooting.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem accused Good of weaponizing her vehicle to commit a, quote, act of domestic terrorism, unquote. In a post on Truth Social, President Trump claimed Good quote, violently, willfully and viciously ran over the ICE officer. Trump went on to say, quote, it's hard to believe he's alive, but is now recovering in the hospital, unquote.

Video from the scene shows the ICE agent walking away after shooting with no signs of injury. However, video from the aftermath shows outraged Minneapolis residents, including a doctor, screaming at the agents to let them help Renee after her crash into a parked vehicle after the shooting.

Can I go check a pulse?

No!

Back up!

Now!

I'm a physician!

I don't care!

Hey, listen, we understand. We got EMS coming. I get it. Just give us a second.

We have medics on scene.

We have our own medics.

Where are they?

Where are they?

How can I relax?

You just killed my f***ing neighbor! At a vigil in Minneapolis last night, residents decried the shooting of Renee Nicole Goode and the Trump administration's decision to send 2,000 ICE agents to the Twin Cities. The surge in agents began shortly after President Trump called the region's large Somali community garbage and accused state officials of failing to root out fraud in social services programs. This is Mustafa Hassan speaking at the vigil.

It's important, honestly. It's just, one, we lost a civilian slash a human being. You know, we all live in a small world. It doesn't matter what color or race you are. I'm here on, you know, even though me being too blind and dealing with it, we had somebody who also that was in our community who passed away.

And that's what we're here for. We're here to support the cops. It's difficult now. A lot of people are moving around scared. They don't know if they're going to be actually going to work or school or wherever the destination they need to get to safely and make it back home without being stopped

and going through all that process.

The killing of Renee Nicole Good was at least the ninth time federal immigration agents have fired on people since last September, all in their cars. Five people have died in mass deportation operations since President Trump ramped up the ICE operations when he retook the White House. For more, we're joined by two guests in Minneapolis who were on site shortly after the ICE shooting of Renee Good.

Robin Wansley is a Democratic Socialist Minneapolis City Council member, longtime Minneapolis activist. This week, she was elected minority leader, marking the first time Democratic Socialists have had a leadership role on the city council. We're also joined by Edwin Torres de Santiago, network manager for the Immigrant Defense Network, which monitors ICE activity and responds to community needs after someone is taken.

They've received thousands of requests from Minnesotans who want to volunteer as constitutional observers of ICE in Minneapolis. We welcome you both to Democracy Now! City Councilmember Robin Wonsley, let's begin with you. Talk about what happened soon after you got there. You heard about the killing, and you came to this area of Minneapolis.

And respond to what's taken place, what President Trump wrote, what the mayor and the governor are saying?

Yeah.

It's been a very challenging moment for our city, and that was put on full display yesterday after thousands of us received the word and also saw the video footage of Renee Good being shot and killed by federal ICE agents. And I think the biggest takeaway to share with the public is, it's fully in alignment with both Mayor Frey and Governor Walz, is we must refute this—the blatant lies that the Trump administration is looking to put forward to cover themselves in enacting what was a blatant murder of a

civilian and a civilian who were simply making sure not only that her child made it to school safely but made sure that her neighbors who are currently being terrorized and attacked by federal ICE agents could also have that same privilege. And she was shot and killed while caring for the smallest members of our community. And I think for anything, for anyone watching this, to know that if this could happen to a 37 year old mother, this could happen to you

in your city. This, this, and we can't accept Trump's administration's lies of them going after bad guys. No, they're going after everyone, especially those who are in opposition to the cruelty campaign that they are waging through federal ICE agents all across our city. So I'm absolutely standing in solidarity with our residents, with our elected officials who are calling for the immediate removal of ICE officials from Minneapolis. And not only that, we need the federal agent responsible for Renee's murder to be arrested

and for local ownership of the investigation to proceed, because we cannot trust the federal government to investigate themselves when they are the cause of this travesty and harm. So we need to have local ownership over that investigation and prosecution of—be it one agent, several agents who were involved in the murder of one of our beautiful civilians, a mother who should not have lost her life, while making sure that her children and those of many of our neighbors made sure that they could make it to school in the morning.

And Edwin Torres de Santiago, you received a text message Wednesday morning, and you raced to the scene. Could you describe what you saw when you got there and who you spoke to and what they told

you?

For sure. That morning, we were patrolling the western suburbs of the Twin Cities, around 8.30 or so. We were just getting done patrolling places like Edina and other places that have been also hit by ICE agents. We were making our way to Bloomington around 9.15, when I got a message from an observer

that happens to have been walking on a morning walk between 34th and Portland, with the text message just being, someone was shot. We did everything possible to send Constitutional observers to that area quickly. Within minutes of sending the alerts—and that's something that the Immigrant Defense Network does. We are a coalition of over 100 organizations across the state of Minnesota. We've been responding to ICE activity every single corner.

Just now, earlier this morning, dozens of agents are in St. Cloud. Just yesterday evening, they're in St. James. And they're everywhere, from Red Wing to Duluth to the Twin Cities, and the Metro has been hit hardest, but also in places like Mankato and in small towns like Norrisfield. They're everywhere. So when I and the rest of the team got notified, we stand out in alert for people to be safe

on 34th and Portland, and if you were a trained Constitution observer, to show up. I arrived closer to 940. I saw them wield the body into an ambulance. At that point, there was a handful of vehicles. More were coming, federal agents, and more were coming. What ended up happening was 40-plus agents that we counted, over 20 different vehicles of federal agents, showed

up to the corner of 34th and Portland, where this incident took place. They were there, supposedly doing an HSI investigation. But what ended up happening is that one of our neighbors got shot and killed that morning. We've been seeing this terror and chaos, so much chaos, that all schools and activities in Minneapolis today and tomorrow have been canceled. This is not normal.

We've been seeing people terrorized all over the state and all over the country under the guise of protection. This is not protection. This is a campaign of fear, confusion. Our businesses are impacted. They're closing day by day.

My own father doesn't feel comfortable stepping out of our home for months now. 2,000 agents were sent to our communities over the weekend. But let's not forget, we've had over 600 agents for over six weeks now. This is one of the largest deployments in any American city, in any American state, by this federal administration. Since December 1st, up until this week, nearly a thousand people have been taken. And if we believe and trust the numbers reported, over 150 people alone were taken on Monday.

It was this increase of enforcements. People are afraid. Now they're even more afraid, with one of our neighbors being shot and killed.

And Edwin, could you talk about the communities that are being especially targeted, given Trump's comments, his obvious animus towards the Somali community in particular?

We are Somali neighbors. Our brothers and sisters are undocumented people, are Latino folks. Everyone who looks like us, let's be honest, is who they're targeting. They're questioning Uber drivers for doing their job. They're questioning workers. They're looking for people who may look foreign, who may sound foreign, and are not

afraid to literally ask. And we saw a video of an Uber driver just yesterday, after the killing of Nicole Goode, going to Bloomington area and questioning a Somali Uber driver, saying, well, you sound different. You sound like you're not from here. And literally said, you sound like you're from Africa.

See those videos. That is racial profiling under the guise of protection. That is our communities being terrorized. And our Somali Muslim community members have been hit with so much hateful rhetoric and Islamophobia. Their businesses are being impacted, and their communities are being impacted.

For six weeks straight, we've been sending Constitutional observers to over 30 different mosques throughout the entire state of Minnesota, so people can just worship in peace. That is not the America, and that is not what Minnesotans believe of peace and protection. This is chaos. This is confusion. And now it is taking the lives of people on the streets, but also we know of people that

are being terrorized, and many who have died at the hands of federal agents once they're in the detention centers.

I wanted to go to Minneapolis resident Emily Heller, who witnessed the ICE agent shoot Renee Good and told CNN Good did not weaponize her car as ICE claimed, as Nome claimed.

They seem like children. They seem like untrained people. And so, that agent was obviously spooked, because he had just killed someone. And it was very obvious to everyone who had witnessed it all that she would not make it. My life is forever changed from having witnessed this. And I'm—I just can't let this narrative that it was self-defense go any further, because

it's absolutely not what it was. So, City Councilmember Robin Wonsley, what about the investigation here? Shockingly, the Homeland Security secretary, instead of saying, we'll investigate this, she and President Trump completely contradicted the video. I mean, President Trump saying that Robin Good ran over the ICE agent who shot her at almost point-blank range, we see him walk away, holstering his gun. He says he was hospitalized and barely survived.

Yeah.

Again, these are just more blatant lies coming from the Trump administration, because what their ultimate aim is, is to normalize this. They want to set this as the new norm for their operations, be it under homeland security, be it through ICE. They want to essentially say that we can circumvent your civil liberties. We can shoot civilians at our own discretion,

and guess what, residents? Guess what, U.S. citizens? Guess what, general public? You have nothing to say about it. There's no accountability that you can have over us, because we are a federal agency. And this is why it's so important that, as, you know, the general public, supporters of the movements and organizing that's happening here in Minneapolis, for you all to help us

in raising this banner, raising this call to action amongst the Democratic Party, amongst labor unions, amongst any organization that has said that they are committed to human rights, civil rights, social justice, equity, anything other than that nature, to make sure that there is responsibility, that there is a judicial proceeding and one that is not led by the Trump administration, an independent investigation and a full, again, judicial proceeding over the federal agents involved in this.

Because, again, this happening here in Minneapolis sets a tone for this to play out in many other cities, where they can go in and kill civilians without any due process. And that's what we saw. They're rushing, as they did with the federal agent who shot and killed Rene Good in the morning.

They immediately removed that agent or the agents involved from the scene and immediately went into public narrative mode. And they're trying to blame the victims, which is what they've been doing with this whole campaign of fear and cruelty. They're blaming regular people. And Edwin framed it so eloquently.

These are people who are simply trying to work, people who are trying to make rent, people who are trying to take their kids to school, who participate in our communities. They want others to believe that these are enemies, that these are threats to our collective safety, when the ultimate threat is the Trump administration and their ICE agents that they're sending in to terrorize our communities. And it's up to us to say, no, we will not stand for this.

And I am proud of our Minneapolis community that has a demonstrated track record of showing that when one of our neighbors are under attack, when our government institutions aren't protecting our residents and our most vulnerable communities, we will organize on their behalf. We will organize for justice. We will organize for accountability until we see those things be enacted. And we have no shorter expectations in this case

in making sure that Renee Good and her family and all the other immigrant communities who have been terrorized and civilians who've been terrorized by ICE agents being in our city until they're held accountable. And if that needs to happen in our own backyard,

if it's through their attorney general, if it's through our local state lawmakers, we need to put every proposal on the table to make sure that accountability and justice is delivered for Renee Good and that ICE agents are sent — they're packing — sent packing out of our city and out of our state. And also, at the local level, we need to be exhausting every tool that we have. One of the things that I'm bringing forward in the coming days, as Edwin highlighted,

people are afraid to leave their homes, to go to work, to go to school, to go to their places of worship. But in response to that, we're seeing February 1st approach. Rent is still due for thousands of our residents, and they have no ability to make that rent. And no resident should be forced to choose between keeping a roof over their head or having to leave their homes to try to work and risk being kidnapped and abducted and, if not killed, by a federal ICE agent.

So my office is going to be bringing forward an eviction moratorium, where I hope to earn the support of my fellow colleagues, the mayor, as well as our general public, to make sure that our residents can shelter in place safely and don't have to worry about making rent, having to pay their rent, keeping their roof over their heads and their families' heads. That is the smallest thing of relief that the city can extend to our residents right now who are fearful to leave their homes, and justifiably so, while ICE is here in our

communities. Well, at Minneapolis City Council, you've signed a—put together a statement calling for ICE to leave the city and the state, as have other local and state officials. Could you explain what kind of authority the city or the state have in determining whether federal agents should be there or not?

I think the authority is the welfare of our residents, the welfare of the people that we are—we've taken an oath to serve and protect. Right now, the welfare of our residents, of the general public being here in Minneapolis and all across the state of Minnesota, as Edwin laid out, how this is impacting residents beyond the metro, it's very clear our communities are being destabilized. They're being terrorized by the presence of ICE here.

And they are the imminent threat. They are the domestic terrorists right now in our communities that should be removed immediately. And whatever authorities that we can leverage, I don't care if it has to be legally, again, politically, whatever needs to happen. There are elected officials all across the country, since Trump took office and decided

that he would leverage immigration as his tool of division and as the spear of his campaign for cruelty, to distract us from the fact that they are robbing us every chance that they can of our basic needs, of our ability to have a quality of life in this country. Since they've done that, it's important for us to look at the other cities that elected officials have used creative means to make sure that ICE and any of the faces or the extensions of the Trump administration

to make them know that they are not welcome in that city. And we've done some of that. We've said we're passing policies to let you know you can't stage in our public spaces. Maybe we need to ramp up enforcement of that using our own law enforcement to say, if you are here, no, cars will be towed. You will be reminded every chance that we can give that you are not welcome here.

You will be denied access to bathrooms and all those things.

You have the mayor saying, get the F out of this city. Do you think we'll be seeing Minneapolis police arresting ICE agents?

I think that is the dream. That is the dream. Even with Governor Walz noting that the National Guard is on potential standby, the deployment of the National Guard or any law enforcement agency in our community, if they are being asked to show up in our streets, they should be asked to show up to protect civilians from ICE agents. And nothing less.

Edwin, we give you the last word. We have 10 seconds.

Right now, all I want to say for any listener and viewers is that we're under so much

fear.

And I am tired of living in fear in a community that I love, in a country that I love. My families are immigrants. We're not criminals. And we just want to live our lives.

AMY GOODMAN, The Covert Immigrant, The New York Times, and The New York Times. Edwin Torres de Santiago, I want to thank you so much for being with us from the Immigrant Edwin Torres de Santiago, I want to thank you so much for being with us from the Immigrant Defense Network in Minneapolis. And we want to thank Minneapolis City Council member Robin Wonsley.