MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Multiple arrests were made Saturday during a protest outside a federal building in Minneapolis, marking one month since Renee Good was fatally shot by an immigration officer. Good, killed on January 7 as she attempted to drive away from immigration enforcement, has become a pivotal figure in the ongoing national debate over immigration policies under the Trump administration.
Protesters gathered outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building at midday, some hurling objects at law enforcement who formed a perimeter around the establishment. According to the Minnesota Star Tribune, tensions escalated and deputies reported they were struck by thrown ice, resulting in arrests as officials designated the gathering as unlawful.
Despite calls to disperse, approximately 100 protesters continued their standoff, citing frustrations with the federal crackdown on immigration, which activists see as a racial and community injustice. This event coincided with a separate gathering at a Minneapolis park where hundreds honored Good and another victim of immigration enforcement, Alex Pretti, who also died at the hands of immigration officers shortly afterward.
The backlash against the immigration enforcement has escalated in Minnesota, especially with the shooting of Good, a mother of three. Eyewitness accounts and public discussions question the narrative promoted by federal authorities, who have labeled these individuals as threats. Activists are pushing back against these characterizations, demanding justice and reform in immigration policies.
Becca Good, Renee’s widow, reiterated the need for awareness of these issues, expressing that many affected immigrants remain nameless and forgotten, even as her story and Alex Pretti’s gain attention. Their painful experiences spotlight a larger epidemic of fear and displacement impacting countless families within Minnesota's immigrant communities.
