‘She was not a terrorist,’ in L.A., calls for justice of ICE killing of Renee Good

Los Angeles has joined in nationwide protests following the tragic killing of 37-year-old by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in Minneapolis. 

Good was fatally shot three times behind the wheel of her vehicle by the ICE agent identified as Jonathan Ross. The incident happened after she dropped off her youngest child at an elementary school. 

 Just hours after the killing of Good, organizers and immigrant rights advocates in L.A. gathered and held vigils in historic locations in the city, including Placita Olvera in Downtown L.A. and Marichi Plaza in Boyle Heights.  

In L.A., demonstrators who held actions on Wednesday and Thursday called for the arrest and prosecution of Ross and demanded that federal immigration officers be withdrawn from the streets of Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and throughout the United States. 

Wednesday 

On Wednesday, the L.A. Party for Socialism and Liberation organized a “From Minneapolis to L.A.; Stop ICE terror” demonstration in the steps of Placita Olvera, just streets away from the Metropolitan Detention Center in DTLA. 

“The video that I’m sure we all saw today confirms that this was a cold-blooded, state-sanctioned murder and any claim that the ICE killer was acting in self-defense is an outrageous lie,” said Michelle, a middle school teacher and member of the L.A. Party for Socialism and Liberation. 

Federal officials have publicly defended Ross. Before Ross was identified, Vice President J.D. Vance praised the agent’s service on Thursday, saying he “deserves a debt of gratitude.”

“This is a guy who’s actually done a very, very important job for the United States of America,” Vance said. “He’s been assaulted. He’s been attacked. He’s been injured because of it.”

Along with Vance, Department of Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem and President Donald Trump have also characterized the shooting as an act of self-defense, claiming Good used her vehicle as a weapon against Ross. 

“Individuals had followed our officers all day, had harassed them, and blocked them in,” Noem said. “They were impeding our law enforcement operations, which is against the law. And when they demanded and commanded her to get out of her vehicle several times, she did not.”

But immigrant rights advocates say the shooting was reckless and videos of the incident capture the agent's use of force. “The agent who shot and murdered Good and any of their accomplices must be prosecuted immediately,” Michelle said. 

Before her killing, Good, her 6-year-old son and her wife had recently relocated to Minneapolis from Kansas City, Missouri. She had also studied English at Old Dominion University in Virginia, where she won an Academy of American Poets Award in 2020.

The Association of Feminists Fighting Fascism, Imperialism, Refeudalization, and Marginalization, L.A. (AF3IRM) was also present at Wednesday’s demonstration. 

Valeria, a mother and organizer with AF3IRM, said Good’s killing was not an isolated incident but instead a “manifestation of gender violence; men acting on behalf of the state to kill women.” 

Ross is a Minnesota resident and a 10-year veteran of the special response team of ICE’s enforcement and removal operations.

“We stand here with a heavy heart, with mixed emotions of grief and rage,” Valeria said. “We mourn Good, who has a glove compartment full of kids' toys and stickers on the back of her car. When mothers are killed, families are shattered, children are traumatized and it exposes the failure to protect women's safety and dignity.”

Thursday

On Thursday, another group of immigrant rights organizations and community members gathered and held an emergency vigil at Mariachin Plaza to demand justice for Good and the many other people of color killed by ICE. 

The vigil was organized by various local organizations, including Centro CSO, Union del Barrio, Proyecto Pastoral at Dolores Mission and the Association of Raza Educators, among others.  

Event organizers began the vigil with a reading of one of Good’s numerous poems, titled “On Learning to Dissect Fetal Pigs,” which won her the Academy of American Poets Award more than five years ago. 

“She was not a terrorist. She was an organizer, a community member and she was just trying to defend her neighbors. This could have easily been any of us,” Verita Topete, an organizer with Centro CSO, said. “We will continue to organize, fight back and we will not be silent. We will not forget. Renee's life mattered and her murder will not be swept under a rug.” 

Good’s death adds to a list of people killed by a federal ICE agent in recent months. 

Others killed by ICE

In the list is Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez, a single father of 2, who last September was shot and killed at a traffic stop in Chicago shortly after he'd dropped his children off at school.

Gabriel Quiroz, also an organizer with Centro CSO, talked about Keith Porter, who was shot and killed by an off-duty ICE agent on New Year's Eve in Northridge.

Porter was shot in front of the Village Pointe apartment complex in Northridge. His family said he was shooting a gun in the air to mark the new year when an ICE agent who lived in the same apartment complex responded to the incident and shot Porter.

DHS stated the incident was an "active shooter situation." 

Like Ross, DHS lauded the ICE agent who killed Porter as a “hero” and referred to Porter as “an active shooter.” 

“Here in L.A., specifically Northridge, a Black man named Keith Porter was shot and killed. We demand a thorough and independent investigation,” Quiroz said.

“We hope you continue to be terrified as you see tens of thousands of people hit the streets to demand justice,” Quiroz said in a message to Ross. 

According to a report by the Department of Homeland Security released earlier this month, since June, ICE has detained over 10,000 people in L.A., many of whom did not have any criminal convictions.  

“Renee was one of us,” Ron Gochez from Union del Barrio said. “She was defending the working class. Our white allies are stepping up.” 

Gochez ended his speech by telling community members present at Thursday's vigil that if serious about change, they should be part of a "serious organization." 

“None of us are safe, documented, undocumented, people of color, or a white woman from Minneapolis. All of us are workers and under attack and if we do not unite, they will gun us down one by one. If you’re not a part of a serious organization, join one and if you don’t like any of the organizations, start your own and make a better one.” 

Following the vigil, the approximately 200 attendees marched down to the Metropolitan Detention Center in DTLA. 

Other organizations like the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) also demand an independent investigation into the fatal shooting of Good. 

“We are witnessing unconscionable levels of escalating violence by ICE agents against anyone who objects to their random, unlawful kidnappings of community members. No community in America should be subjected to violence or terror because of federal enforcement actions,” Angelica Salas, executive director of CHIRLA, said in a statement released on Thursday. “As we grieve and denounce the Trump Administration’s brutality, we urge community members and allies to channel their reaction into peaceful protest and civic action. Our collective power lies in protecting one another and demanding justice.”

On Wednesday, Mayor Karen Bass said Good’s killing was “senseless, shocking and tragic.”

“Make no mistake, this new wave of ICE agents descending on American cities is a purposeful campaign of fear and intimidation by the administration meant to distract from Trump’s cruel policies that have tanked the economy and are impacting everyday Americans who can no longer afford basic needs like health care, rent, utilities, medicines, and groceries,” Bass said in a statement. “Violence like this does not exist in isolation — it undermines public safety and strikes at the very foundation of our democracy. It’s atrocious, it’s dangerous and it’s un-American.”