The people of Minneapolis are living in terror as ICE raids continue and the death toll rises
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Over the past several weeks, Minneapolis has been terrorized by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. This has led to the deaths of American citizens in Minneapolis, widespread fear in people of color, schools switching to online learning, and many being denied their civil liberties and rights. The people of Minneapolis are living in a never-ending cycle of fear that begins the moment they open their front door. Many are working together to fundraise and deliver groceries to high-risk communities, helping them stay safer in their homes.
This state of terror should not exist in the land of the free, yet, with the rise of ICE across the nation, fear is seeping into the daily lives of Americans. This is much more than a political issue; it is the fight for humanity in the face of violence and oppression.
On the morning of Jan. 7, Good was stopped after dropping her kids off at her ex-husband’s—who has remained unnamed for the safety of the children—house. Her car was stopped perpendicular to the street for about three minutes prior to the confrontation with ICE agents. Approximately two minutes after her car was stopped, an ICE officer exited an unmarked vehicle and approached Good’s car, walking around it. She backed up for a moment, repositioning the vehicle across the road before another person, who was not in uniform, followed the original officer to Good’s car while filming on their phone.
They told her to “get out of the car” before they cursed at her and continued to order her out of her car. One of the officers pulled on her driver’s door while the other officer was at the front of the vehicle. The vehicle began to move forward, and a third officer approached with his pistol pointed at Good while moving away from the front of the car.
The Director of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, and President Trump have claimed that this was a violent and vicious attack by Good on the officers, despite her having no history of activism or violent tendencies, according to her family and community.
The third officer, now identified as Jonathan Ross, shot her once when the car may have made contact (different camera angles of the confrontation show that the car may not ever made contact). Once he was out of the path, he continued to use deadly force and shot her two more times.
She was announced dead on the scene as her glove compartment overflowed with stuffed toys that belonged to her three children, and her wife was standing off on the side of the road, wailing, “That’s my wife, I don’t know what to do!”
The local government officials are horrified by this act of violence, not only against Good but against the entire city of Minneapolis. Minneapolis Chief of Police Brian O’Hara told The New York Times that the city is at a “breaking point.” There have been reports of people being pepper-sprayed by ICE, cars left unsafely in the roadway after arrests (once with a dog inside), and an overwhelming amount of 911 calls concerning ICE.
During the interview, the level of training that ICE agents receive was brought into question. Although O’Hara stated that he had no knowledge of their training requirements or regimens, he did comment, “…I do think they are being forced into situations in which they are not well prepared to deal with.” He continued to comment that while many want a return to normalcy, especially in Minneapolis, the tensions need to cool down first.
