We are able to flip the tide towards Trump—however solely with mass motion and brave management.
Minneapolis Metropolis Council member Robin Wonsley speaks to acrowd of bystanders close to the scene the place federal brokers shot and killed a girl earlier on Portland Avenue in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 7, 2026.
(Alex Kormann / The Minnesota Star Tribune by way of Getty Photos)
Shortly after dropping her 6-year-old son off in school, Renee Good was shot and killed by ICE agent Jonathan Ross.
Republican leaders tried to smear Good as a “home terrorist” and declare that Ross acted in “self-defense.” However the incident was caught on video, and all of us noticed it: an ICE agent murdering a 37-year-old mom. Good was additionally a US citizen, the demographic that ICE is claiming to guard.
ICE’s function in Minnesota has been to sow chaos and terror, with a spotlight in Minneapolis, probably the most numerous areas within the state. Many residents really feel like they’re residing beneath occupation. ICE brokers are snatching residents from bus stops. Black and brown US residents are carrying their passports in every single place to maintain from being kidnapped by federal brokers. Companies are struggling as persons are afraid to indicate as much as work. Colleges are on lockdown as ICE reveals as much as harass and assault college students and educators. And now ICE has shot and killed a neighbor.
Whereas the violence of occupation just isn’t the usual in Minneapolis, these current occasions really feel all too acquainted. Good’s homicide occurred simply six blocks from the place Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd. A badge doesn’t offer you a license to kill with impunity. We didn’t quietly settle for the homicide of George Floyd in 2020, and we won’t settle for the homicide of Renee Good now.
Present Difficulty
Secretary of Homeland Safety Kristi Noem has outrageously claimed that ICE helps to maintain individuals secure. What’s change into blatantly clear is that ICE is the largest risk to our neighborhood’s security. That’s why the primary demand from Minneapolis residents has been for ICE to depart.
Hundreds of residents, together with Good, have been organizing to guard our neighbors. Delivering groceries to households, so nobody is kidnapped whereas attempting to feed their family members. Strolling youngsters to varsities so households aren’t torn aside on the best way residence. Distributing whistles, so we are able to alert our neighbors when ICE is on our streets. These actions aren’t all the time seen, however they’re serving to to maintain households collectively.
As an area elected official, I’m working with my colleagues to push our governor to take motion to maintain households of their houses by instituting an eviction moratorium. Governor Tim Walz can present the remainder of the nation that Democrats can resist Trump and defend residents focused by the administration’s merciless insurance policies. Tons of of households are unable to soundly go to work, and shouldn’t have to decide on between protecting a roof over their heads and risking being completely separated from their family members.
Minnesota Lawyer Normal Keith Ellison and Hennepin County Lawyer Mary Moriarty introduced Friday that they’re conducting an unbiased investigation into the killing of Good, an important step as we can not belief Trump’s businesses to conduct a good arrest, investigation, or trial.
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However to actually put an finish to ICE and the rising tide of fascism beneath Trump, the Democratic Get together should take rapid and daring motion for the next:
- Return our neighbors who’ve been kidnapped by the federal authorities.
- Finish funding for ICE and abolish the company.
- States, beginning with Minnesota, should withhold federal taxes till there’s a humane immigration system.
Profitable these calls for require extra than simply voting. We’d like national-level labor organizing for strikes and shutdowns to interrupt the financial system and drive a change after all till we are able to all dwell free from the concern of being kidnapped or shot by armed brokers. The ICE Out of Minnesota Economic Blackout deliberate for January 23 is a good begin.
As a result of whereas the eyes of the world have as soon as once more turned to Minneapolis after a person with a badge killed considered one of our neighbors, it is a nationwide drawback.
Lower than 48 hours after an ICE agent killed Good, federal brokers shot two individuals in Portland. They’ve already focused Los Angeles, Chicago, and New Orleans. It could possibly be your metropolis subsequent. So long as ICE exists, no one is secure—not even a 37-year-old mother and US citizen. It’s going to take all of us doing our elements to finish this violence.
This second will go down in historical past, however we’ve got a selection about how. If we do nothing, this may mark the start of a interval the place federal brokers can kill us with impunity.
But when we act, we are able to make this the second that lastly turned the tide towards rising fascism and ended Trump’s assaults on our communities. The time for mass motion is now—let’s make this the final life stolen by ICE.
