 Dear Neighbors,
Renee Nicole Good should still be alive today. Last Wednesday, she was shot and killed by a federal ICE agent in Minneapolis, one day after the federal government deployed over 2,000 federal agents to Minneapolis – building on our president’s obsession with our state and political retribution.
That same day, ICE agents came onto school property at Roosevelt High School, also in Minneapolis, tackling people, handcuffing two staff members, and releasing chemical weapons on bystanders. MPS had to close schools for the rest of the week to protect kids from the dangerous actions of ICE in our communities. Think about that – public schools being closed because of fear from our federal government.
Regardless of how you feel about ICE’s deportation goals, I hope everyone can recognize that ICE’s approach is just bad public safety. It doesn’t appear they have proper training to de-escalate situations, their racial profiling sweeps up many who are not their targets and creates fear and distrust in law enforcement, and wearing masks is just chilling and further erodes trust.
And now, in a highly unusual move, the federal government has shut out Minnesota from the investigation into Renee’s killing. This is such a tense situation. And it is absolutely critical that there be a fair and impartial investigation. Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has experience in dealing fairly with difficult and emotionally-charged investigations involving law enforcement. How can we trust the federal government to be unbiased, when the President and the head of the Department of Homeland Security have already made false statements pre-judging what happened? How will any result be viewed as legitimate?
ICE needs to leave our state. None of this is about public safety — in fact, ICE is destabilizing our communities and making us all less safe. Masked men are coming in, arresting people without cause, racially profiling our neighbors, and wreaking havoc. We have seen residents kidnapped, a pregnant woman dragged across the pavement, and a baby pepper-sprayed.
Please stay safe and look out for one another. I am so thankful for the Minnesotans who have shown up, peacefully protested, and lifted up Renee’s legacy. We should not have to fear exercising our first amendment rights.
Below are resources to familiarize yourself with, as well as connections to community organizations that are providing important training opportunities.
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