Activism / January 15, 2026

Let’s Make Renee Good the Last Person That ICE Kills

We can turn the tide against Trump—but only with mass action and courageous leadership.

Robin Wonsley

Minneapolis City Council member Robin Wonsley speaks to acrowd of bystanders near the scene where federal agents shot and killed a woman earlier on Portland Avenue in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 7, 2026.


(Alex Kormann / The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images)

Shortly after dropping her 6-year-old son off at school, Renee Good was shot and killed by ICE agent Jonathan Ross.

Republican leaders attempted to smear Good as a “domestic terrorist” and claim that Ross acted in “self-defense.” But the incident was caught on video, and we all saw it: an ICE agent murdering a 37-year-old mother. Good was also a US citizen, the demographic that ICE is claiming to protect.

ICE’s purpose in Minnesota has been to sow chaos and terror, with a focus in Minneapolis, one of the most diverse areas in the state. Many residents feel like they’re living under occupation. ICE agents are snatching residents from bus stops. Black and brown US citizens are carrying their passports everywhere to keep from being kidnapped by federal agents. Businesses are struggling as people are afraid to show up to work. Schools are on lockdown as ICE shows up to harass and assault students and educators. And now ICE has shot and killed a neighbor.

While the violence of occupation is not the standard in Minneapolis, these recent events feel all too familiar. Good’s murder occurred just six blocks from where Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd. A badge does not give you a license to kill with impunity. We did not quietly accept the murder of George Floyd in 2020, and we will not accept the murder of Renee Good now.

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Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem has outrageously claimed that ICE is helping to keep people safe. What’s become blatantly clear is that ICE is the biggest threat to our community’s safety. That’s why the first demand from Minneapolis residents has been for ICE to leave.

Thousands of residents, including Good, have been organizing to protect our neighbors. Delivering groceries to families, so no one is abducted while trying to feed their loved ones. Walking kids to schools so families aren’t torn apart on the way home. Distributing whistles, so we can alert our neighbors when ICE is on our streets. These actions aren’t always visible, but they are helping to keep families together.

As a local elected official, I am working with my colleagues to push our governor to take action to keep families in their homes by instituting an eviction moratorium. Governor Tim Walz can show the rest of the nation that Democrats can resist Trump and protect residents targeted by the administration’s cruel policies. Hundreds of families are unable to safely go to work, and shouldn’t have to choose between keeping a roof over their heads and risking being permanently separated from their loved ones.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced Friday that they are conducting an independent investigation into the killing of Good, a crucial step as we cannot trust Trump’s agencies to conduct a fair arrest, investigation, or trial.

But to truly put an end to ICE and the rising tide of fascism under Trump, the Democratic Party must take immediate and bold action for the following:

  • Return our neighbors who have been kidnapped by the federal government.
  • End funding for ICE and abolish the agency.
  • States, starting with Minnesota, must withhold federal taxes until there is a humane immigration system.

Winning these demands require more than just voting. We need national-level labor organizing for strikes and shutdowns to interrupt the economy and force a change of course until we can all live free from the fear of being kidnapped or shot by armed agents. The ICE Out of Minnesota Economic Blackout planned for January 23 is a great start.

Because while the eyes of the world have once again turned to Minneapolis after a man with a badge killed one of our neighbors, this is a national problem.

Less than 48 hours after an ICE agent killed Good, federal agents shot two people in Portland. They’ve already targeted Los Angeles, Chicago, and New Orleans. It could be your city next. As long as ICE exists, nobody is safe—not even a 37-year-old mom and US citizen. It’s going to take all of us doing our parts to end this violence.

This moment will go down in history, but we have a choice about how. If we do nothing, this will mark the beginning of a period where federal agents can kill us with impunity.

But if we act, we can make this the moment that finally turned the tide against rising fascism and ended Trump’s attacks on our communities. The time for mass action is now—let’s make this the last life stolen by ICE.

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Even before February 28, the reasons for Donald Trump’s imploding approval rating were abundantly clear: untrammeled corruption and personal enrichment to the tune of billions of dollars during an affordability crisis, a foreign policy guided only by his own derelict sense of morality, and the deployment of a murderous campaign of occupation, detention, and deportation on American streets. 

Now an undeclared, unauthorized, unpopular, and unconstitutional war of aggression against Iran has spread like wildfire through the region and into Europe. A new “forever war”—with an ever-increasing likelihood of American troops on the ground—may very well be upon us.  

As we’ve seen over and over, this administration uses lies, misdirection, and attempts to flood the zone to justify its abuses of power at home and abroad. Just as Trump, Marco Rubio, and Pete Hegseth offer erratic and contradictory rationales for the attacks on Iran, the administration is also spreading the lie that the upcoming midterm elections are under threat from noncitizens on voter rolls. When these lies go unchecked, they become the basis for further authoritarian encroachment and war. 

In these dark times, independent journalism is uniquely able to uncover the falsehoods that threaten our republic—and civilians around the world—and shine a bright light on the truth. 

The Nation’s experienced team of writers, editors, and fact-checkers understands the scale of what we’re up against and the urgency with which we have to act. That’s why we’re publishing critical reporting and analysis of the war on Iran, ICE violence at home, new forms of voter suppression emerging in the courts, and much more. 

But this journalism is possible only with your support.

This March, The Nation needs to raise $50,000 to ensure that we have the resources for reporting and analysis that sets the record straight and empowers people of conscience to organize. Will you donate today?

Robin Wonsley

Robin Wonsley is Minneapolis's first Black democratic socialist city council member and the council minority leader. She is a longtime organizer and activist.

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