A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis on Wednesday, making national headlines and sending national tensions – already running high – even higher.
More than 1,200 miles away, the shooting sent shock waves through immigration activists in Durango, where clashes between protesters and ICE agents have escalated at local demonstrations in recent months.
“This shakes us to the core,” said Enrique Orozco-Perez, co-executive director of Compañeros: Four Corners Immigrant Resource Center. “Again, we always know there’s a danger in rapid response, but to see an innocent person, who was a legal observer, who literally posed no threat with her car, get gunned down like that, is disgusting.”
Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen originally from Colorado, was shot in her vehicle after she began backing up and driving forward as masked ICE agents attempted to open the driver’s side door. Her vehicle appeared to be blocking a street where protesters were demonstrating.
Federal officials, including U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and President Donald Trump have said the shooting was done in self-defense after Good attempted to use her car as a deadly weapon against law enforcement. Many who have viewed the video contest that description of events.
Durango’s immigrant-rights activists said the incident underscores how far ICE activity has escalated beyond constitutional bounds.
It represents a continued pattern of unlawful violence by federal agents in the face of peaceful activism, Orozco-Perez said.
It is not an isolated incident, said Beatriz Garcia-Wadell, Western Slope organizer for the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition. Durango has witnessed escalating violent techniques on the part of federal officers, she said.
ICE agents appear to be operating without forethought or anticipation of consequences, Garcia-Wadell said. The lack of strategy is deeply concerning, she said, and Good’s death is a tragic result.
“That woman could be any of us,” she said. “You don’t even need to be the target.”
Organizers plan an emergency protest in memory of Good and in solidarity with Minneapolis at 4:30 p.m. Friday at Buckley Park, 1250 Main Ave.
Fear, already heightened in Durango and throughout the immigrant community, has reached a new peak, Garcia-Wadell said. Since the shooting, she has heard that some are afraid to continue protesting and are debating whether it is safe to attend Friday’s local demonstration in memory of Good.
“I’m terrified,” said Franci Stagi, describing how she felt after hearing the news Wednesday.
Stagi is familiar with the risks of protesting. During October demonstrations outside the ICE detention facility at Bodo Park, she was peacefully protesting when she was shoved to the ground by an ICE agent.
For her, the fatal shooting reinforced the danger of firearms being introduced into already escalating situations.
“I’m very, very afraid of protesting,” she said. “I haven’t been protesting because I’m afraid of getting shot in the face.”
Stagi said she will attend Friday’s protest, but will take additional precautions. She will avoid wearing any bright colors, and won’t wear a hat, “so that if they aim for my head, it’ll be harder to find,” she said.
Mid-conversation, Stagi interrupted to say her brother had texted to her in reference to her plan to attend the event.
He said: “Don’t get your head blown off.”
Orozco-Perez said his organization and the broader network of local immigration activists will make changes to how they protest in response to Wednesday’s shooting, but declined to share specifics, citing concerns the information could be used against demonstrators.
“I would say if you want to get involved – go to these demonstrations – be prepared,” he said. “Some of us wear masks when we’re there and glasses and hoodies and dress in all black so that we can’t be identifiable.”
Volunteer street medics will start attending protests to tend to any injuries in response to both the shooting and recent demonstrations outside the ICE field office in Durango, where protesters have been sprayed with chemical irritants, pushed around and shot with rubber bullets.
There are no plans to scale back any public demonstrations, he said.
“We’re more emboldened. We’re more in for this fight. We will not let this fascist government terrorize innocent communities,” he said. “If anything, the community is ready to be more present.”
Organizers have already expanded efforts to support those on the front lines emotionally and physically, he said.
“Our community members are putting their bodies, their lives and their emotional and physical health on the line,” Orozco-Perez said. “We have care committees, healing circles, people tending to those most impacted. This is a whole operation taking care of everyone, not just the immigrant community.”
The shooting has drawn backlash from elected officials nationwide.
Gov. Jared Polis called for a full investigation into Good’s death on Wednesday, and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey publicly told ICE to “get the f--- out.”
“It’s time we take bold stances,” Orozco-Perez said, commending Frey’s outspoken statement. He said he wants to see similar responses from local city and county officials, while acknowledging recent efforts to form an immigration task force.
jbowman@durangoherald.com
