The murder of Renee Good and ensuing federal government response is abhorrent
By THE EDITORIAL BOARD — opinion@theaggie.org
Renee Good, a legal observer and mother of three, was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Jan. 7. Minneapolis is one of the cities that has been targeted by the Donald Trump administration in the latest immigration enforcement crackdowns.
Following Good’s death, there have been widespread protests against the unjust practices of ICE across Minneapolis and beyond. Her family is seeking legal action and has launched a civil probe to investigate the case.
Shortly after the news broke, the Trump administration began twisting the narrative, alleging that Good was at fault for her death.
The Department of Homeland Security claims that Good was aiming to run over the agents with her car. Despite video footage of the encounter, the federal government is attempting to change the story.
“The woman driving the car [Good]…violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer,” Trump said in a Truth Social post, regarding the agent who shot her.
Several federal agencies have launched investigations into Good’s case, including the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Despite requests from Minnesota officials calling for a joint investigation, the FBI has taken the lead on the investigation into Good’s death without the aid of Minnesota’s investigative agency.
Six federal prosecutors have resigned in protest over the DHS’ investigation into Renee Good’s wife, Becca Good, after the DHS labeled Renee’s actions as “an act of domestic terrorism.” The investigation’s focus on her widow, rather than the agent who shot her, is another blatant overreach of power.
Good’s is not the only case of immigration enforcement engaging in baseless acts of violence against civilians. In Portland, just one day later, border patrol agents shot two people during a traffic stop. Additionally, the conditions inside detention facilities have led to 32 deaths in 2025 — the highest number since 2004.
The most common crime associated with illegal immigration is unlawful entry, which is classified as a misdemeanor akin to jaywalking or public intoxication. The Trump administration’s rhetoric on illegal immigration instead paints them as dangerous criminals, when in reality, immigrants have committed less crimes than native-born Americans since the 1870s.
In order to execute their plans for mass deportations, the Trump administration hired over 12,000 agents and reduced their training time from five months to around eight weeks. Additionally, Slate journalist Laura Jadeed claims to have been offered a position as an ICE agent without proper vetting — neglecting background checks, fitness evaluations or other onboarding processes — and an officer telling her the “goal is to put as many guns and badges out on the field as possible.”
“Somehow, despite never submitting any of the paperwork they sent me — not the background check or identification info, not the domestic violence affidavit, none of it — ICE had apparently offered me a job,” Jadeed said in a written statement.
Though denied by the DHS, this reporter’s statement is a signal of ICE’s primary motivation: not to protect citizens of the United States, but to instill fear in the public and criminalize communities of color.
Along with the lack of training, instances of racial profiling have been reported in Minnesota. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Minnesota recently filed a class action lawsuit against the federal government for unlawful stops and arrests of Somali and Latino people in Minneapolis and St. Paul. This racial profiling lawsuit demonstrates an escalation of recent rhetoric about “legal” versus “illegal” to targeting people strictly based on appearance, creating a hateful and incredibly dangerous precedent for the next three years and beyond.
In response to the protests that occurred after Good’s death, Trump threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act in Minneapolis — a threat that he has executed in Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland bringing in federal troops to quell protestors simply exercising their First Amendment rights. As of Jan. 18, 1,500 federal troops are on orders by Trump to be prepared to deploy to Minnesota. This is not just a one-off event, but a pattern that should be recognized as alarming and unacceptable by the American people.
While it may seem that civilians are powerless against the atrocities of federal entities, there are a multitude of ways to care for your community. Being aware of your rapid response network, staying up to date with local non-profits like NorCal Resist or donating to families in need of legal support amid immigration attacks are examples of ways to actively support those around you. Regardless of the state you reside in, we cannot sit idly by and watch this happen in yet another city. The deployment of troops on Americans is not just or democratic, it is a symptom of a larger issue — an extreme overreach of power that has gone unchecked.
Written by: The Editorial Board – opinion@theaggie.org
