Another set of demonstrations were scheduled for Friday in Minneapolis following the fatal shooting of a local woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer amid the Trump administration’s recent immigration crackdown in a major city. This came after federal immigration officers shot and injured two individuals in Portland, Oregon.
On Thursday night, hundreds of protesters marched in freezing rain through one of Minneapolis’s main streets to protest the shooting of Renee Nicole Good on Wednesday. They chanted “ICE out now!” and displayed signs reading “Killer ICE off our streets.” The day commenced with an intense protest outside a federal facility acting as a focal point for the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Barricades were set up outside the facility on Friday.
City workers cleared makeshift barricades made of old Christmas trees and debris that had obstructed the streets near the area where Good was shot by the ICE officer as she attempted to flee. City officials announced they would allow a makeshift memorial for the 37-year-old mother of three to remain.
In Portland, Oregon, the shooting incident occurred outside a hospital on Thursday afternoon. A man and a woman, identified as Luis David Nico Moncada and Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras, both Venezuelan nationals, were shot inside a vehicle, and their conditions were not immediately disclosed. Investigations were being carried out by the FBI and the Oregon Department of Justice.
Portland Mayor Keith Wilson and the city council urged ICE to halt all operations in the city until a thorough investigation was completed. Hundreds of people protested outside a local ICE building on Thursday night. Early Friday, Portland police reported the arrest of several protesters after requesting them to move from the street to the sidewalk to allow traffic to flow.
Similarly to the response following Good’s shooting, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security defended the actions of the officers in Portland, stating that the shooting occurred when a Venezuelan man with alleged gang connections, involved in a recent shooting, attempted to use his vehicle as a weapon against the officers. The shootings were not immediately confirmed to be captured on video, unlike Good’s incident.
“The agent acted promptly to protect himself and others, resulting in the shootings,” Homeland Security stated on Friday.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, along with President Donald Trump and other administration officials, repeatedly portrayed the Minneapolis shooting as an act of self-defense, characterizing Good as an aggressor who used her vehicle as a weapon against the officer who shot her.
Vice-President JD Vance supported the shooting, claiming it was justified and that Good fell victim to left-wing ideology. He pointed out that the officer who shot her had been injured by a vehicle while making an arrest the previous June.
Contrary to this narrative, state and local officials, as well as protesters, rejected the characterization, with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey citing video evidence that refuted the self-defense justification.
In a news conference on Friday, Education Minnesota and union leaders from schools across the state called for ICE to refrain from approaching schools. Education Minnesota president Monica Byron highlighted instances of ICE agents circling school premises in Roseville, waiting for families to pick up their children.
The fatal shooting in Minneapolis occurred on the second day of the Twin Cities immigration crackdown, described by Homeland Security as the largest immigration enforcement operation to date. Over 2,000 officers are participating, resulting in more than 1,500 arrests, according to Noem.
The incident sparked immediate reactions in the city where George Floyd was killed in 2020, with numerous individuals gathering at the scene to express their anger towards the ICE officers. As a precaution, the school district canceled classes for the remainder of the week.
Good’s death, which marked at least the fifth related to immigration enforcement since Trump’s presidency began, resonated beyond Minneapolis, prompting protests in several major U.S. cities. The Minnesota agency investigating officer-involved shootings revealed that the FBI and U.S. Justice Department declined to cooperate, effectively ending any state involvement in determining potential criminal acts related to the shooting.
Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, pressing for a thorough, impartial investigation of the Minneapolis shooting in collaboration with local authorities. The Hennepin County district attorney urged the public to submit video and other evidence regarding Good’s shooting directly to her office.
Federal officials declined to disclose the agent’s identity, while CBC News could not independently verify the agent’s identity. Details provided by Vance and Noem closely matched those found in federal court documents related to an incident involving an ICE officer in Bloomington the previous June.
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