‘We’re Not Going to Take This’: UUs Provide Mutual Aid, Join Protests after ICE Kills Mother of Three in Minneapolis

With their community in upheaval after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot 37-year-old mother of three Renee Nicole Good, Unitarian Universalists in Minneapolis are responding through protest, mourning, and caring for their neighbors.

On Wednesday, January 7, an ICE agent fired gunshots into the Honda Pilot driven by Good, according to videos circulating on social media.

Good’s killing has sparked nationwide outrage, leading thousands of people to protest in Philadelphia, Boston, Dallas, New York City, and more. In Minneapolis the situation has been particularly turbulent and vigils and protests are ongoing.

Unitarian Universalist ministers and laypeople acted quickly, some rushing to the scene just minutes after Good was killed.

Rev. Ashley Horan, the UUA’s Vice President for Programs and Ministries, who resides near the site of the shooting in south Minneapolis, began livestreaming from the scene. Her footage captures ICE agents firing chemical irritants at protestors, according to a report from the Religion News Service.

Horan describes ICE’s actions as drawn from the “fascist playbook” in a video she posted on Facebook later that day, saying that federal agents are attempting to “fracture and terrorize our communities,” which goes against UU values.

Amid a “terrible and terrifying time,” Horan said, she has seen “the very best of people, the very best of faith, of the very best of humanity just showing up for each other.

“I have watched neighbors continue to help and protect each other,” said Horan. “I have watched parents take action to make sure our kids are safe as they were going to school, and mutual aid everywhere.

“Everybody should take their shift for this revolution,” said Horan, emphasizing that all people have ways they can contribute to their community. “What I want to say to our folks is that if you feel helpless, don’t. There is a role for you and the time is now to get involved.”

Horan said she was heartened to see UUs living their values in a time of crisis.

“At the center of our faith are the twin values of understanding that all life is sacred, all life has inherent worthiness and dignity, and that we are deeply interdependent and interconnected,” she said. “And those two things mean that when any force is coming after our neighbors, we are morally compelled to show up, and that’s what I’m witnessing in my community.”

‘It was a War Zone’

Rev. Jen Crow, Senior Minister of the First Universalist Church of Minneapolis, also joined in protest, vigil, and prayer.

Crow said she and her faith community were watching ICE raids at local schools and daycares in the days since the Trump administration announced it would send 2,000 federal agents to the Twin Cities.

“Folks from our congregations were already out watching for ICE when I got the news that there had been a shooting at 34th [Street] and Portland [Avenue],” Crow said.

She joined a group of fellow UU clergy—including Horan, Rev. Karen Hutt, and Rev. Oscar Sinclair—to gather in “protest and rage” at the site of Good’s killing.

Interfaith clergy prayed together, Crow said.

“We didn’t know yet that Renee had died,” she said. “We were praying for the folks caring for her and for her family. We were praying for any of the healers who were present tending to the wounded and the grieving. And we prayed for a change of heart for the militarized folks in the streets. Not the revolutionaries, but for the ICE agents and the police, that they might be able to see the distance between what they say they are there for and what they’re actually doing.

“We prayed for protection, courage, and fierceness of love,” said Crow.

Crow described ICE’s presence on the scene as “an overwhelming show of force,” saying that over fifty agents were present after Good’s killing, many heavily armed.

“It was a war zone,” she said.

The fatal shooting in Minneapolis is part of a broader pattern of violence related to immigration enforcement in the United States after Trump took office.

According to data and news reports reviewed by The Trace, there have been sixteen incidents where immigration agents have opened fire since the Department of Homeland Security crackdowns began. The number could be higher given that such shootings are not always publicly reported, notes The Trace.

On Thursday, the day after Good was killed, a Border Patrol agent shot a husband and wife in Portland, Oregon, according to CNN. As in Good’s case, DHS has claimed that the shooting victims were attempting to run over law enforcement agents.

Crow was strongly critical of ICE’s disruptive impact on local communities, noting that Minneapolis Public Schools were closed the rest of the week due to safety concerns. That announcement of school closure was made after ICE agents conducted a raid at local Roosevelt High School that led to chaotic clashes with students, teachers, and protesters, according to NBC News.

“They’re showing no regard for previous practices and basic respect,” said Crow. “They are invading schools and hospitals. So, we’re doing our best to both demand justice around Renee Good’s death but also to keep observing and witnessing what’s continuing to happen throughout the city and to push back on it.

“We’re not going to take this militarization against our people,” said Crow.

Solidarity in a Time of Crisis

In the face of Good’s killing and the presence of a large, heavily armed federal police force, Crow said she nevertheless feels “heartened” to witness the way people around her have responded.

“Our people are showing up at protests and vigils. They’re part of the rapid response network. They are making space for each other for moments of grief and for resolve,” said Crow.

Crow said she was inspired to see people across her congregation supporting their neighbors during this time, in particular older members of the community.

“Folks of the grandparent age have really stepped up,” Crow said. “Some members walk kids to and from school, so their parents can stay safe. If parents don’t feel safe leaving their homes, [church members] are bringing them groceries.

There’s a need to “build a new kind of community,” she said.

“That means being willing to do things radically different in our relationships and in how we share power and in the structures that we create,” Crow said. “This is what Renee Good was doing and what the thousands of other rapid responders and grandparents and everyday congregants are doing already, which is seeing their fellow neighbor as a human beings with inherent worthiness.”