Protests erupt after ICE agent fatally shoots mother of three, fuelling anger at Trump’s hardline immigration crackdown.
Demonstrators took to the streets of Minneapolis, chanting the name of the woman killed by a federal agent in the city of the midwestern US state of Minnesota, amid widespread anger at the use of force in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
Organisers said more than 1,000 events were planned across the United States on Saturday under the slogan “ICE, Out for Good”, referring to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, which is drawing growing opposition over its execution of President Donald Trump’s push for mass deportations of immigrants.
The slogan is also a reference to Renee Nicole Good, the 37-year-old mother of three, who was shot dead in her car by an ICE agent on Wednesday.
Thousands braved frigid weather and streamed towards a snow-covered park to mobilise near the scene of the shooting. They carried signs demanding “ICE OUT” of Minnesota.
At the start of the protest, a voice called out, “Say her name!” The crowd shouted back: “Renee Good!”
Her death has evoked strong emotions across the nation.
In Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), protesters marched in the rain from City Hall to the ICE field office. Others mobilised in New York, Washington, DC and Boston (Massachusetts), with the gatherings drawing dozens to hundreds of demonstrators.
More protests were planned for Sunday.
The calls to protest were being amplified by the “No Kings” movement, a network of left-wing organisations that mounted nationwide demonstrations against Trump last year.
The Trump administration has sought to paint Good as a “domestic terrorist”, insisting the agent who fatally shot her was acting in self-defence.
This narrative is strongly disputed by local officials and numerous analysts and observers, who say footage shows Good’s vehicle turning away from the agent and not posing a threat to his life.
Officials and residents in Minnesota have expressed concern that local law enforcement agencies have been shut out of the FBI investigation into the Minneapolis shooting.
According to The Trace, a media outlet focusing on gun violence, Good was the fourth person killed by federal immigration agents since the launch of the Trump administration’s deportation campaign. Seven people have been injured.
C. Al Jazeera
