MINNEAPOLIS is in the news yet again. On Wednesday morning, a few blocks from where George Floyd died under police arrest, a woman was shot dead by an agent of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), ‘a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responsible for protecting the United States from cross-border crime and illegal immigration that threaten national security and public safety’.
The ICE agents were conducting what the agency calls ‘targeted operations’, that is, looking for criminal illegal aliens, men like Tomas Espin Tapia, wanted for murder and convicted of robbery and extortion in his native Ecuador, and accused of sexual assault in Connecticut; or Tong Xiong, a criminal illegal alien from Laos, convicted of lewd or lascivious acts with a minor, sexual assault, kidnapping, assault, armed robbery, robbery and probation violation.
As has become routine by now, anti-ICE protesters quickly appeared on the scene almost immediately, as if by magic.
It was around 9.30am and one can but wonder if these folks have jobs. Whether they lack gainful employment, have private incomes or very indulgent bosses, it is hard to say, but they invariably seem to have plenty of time on their hands. I have come across pages on Facebook and X that alert people to an imminent ICE raid in their locality, so these protesters are organised and informed. Anyway, they were doing what they almost always do in these situations: block the roads where ICE agents are operating and hurl ugly abuse at them.
One of those protesters, apparently blocking the roads with the SUV she was driving and trying to prevent ICE vehicles from moving forward freely that morning, was a 37-year-old woman by the name of Renee Nicole Good, described by her grieving mother as ‘one of the kindest people I’ve ever known . . . loving, forgiving and affectionate . . . an amazing human being’. Now the poor woman is dead, her life taken from her in the most sordid of circumstances.
Let me make this absolutely clear: Renee Good’s violent death is a horrible tragedy. She should not have died in this way. Whether or not she simply panicked when her vehicle was surrounded by agents is yet to be determined. Indeed, much of this case has yet to be determined, so please forgive my guarded tone.
Having reviewed the many videos of her death that have emerged so far, I find it hard not to sympathise somewhat with the ICE officer who fired his gun through the windscreen of Good’s SUV as she accelerated towards him after being ordered to stop and exit her vehicle. Had the SUV hit the officer, whose name at time of writing has not been revealed despite frenzied online efforts to obtain it, he would have likely fallen backwards, hit his head on the tarmac, and been further injured as the vehicle drove over him. He could easily have died. Given the speed of the SUV, he can surely be forgiven for fearing for his life.
I hesitate to speculate further. This is a rapidly developing story and there’s much more to be learned about the circumstances that led to a woman’s death on the snow-laden streets of south Minneapolis. Indeed, it is far too early to apportion blame. Whether the officer was justified in killing Renee Good will be decided by a court of law: an objective one, it is to be hoped.
But as this story progresses I find it increasingly hard to overlook how the men and women of ICE have been demonised to the point of dehumanisation, groups of protesters gathering in front of their hotels in the Twin Cities, playing loud music and even using drums in attempts to deprive them of sleep, not to mention attempting to unmask them and publish their names and addresses on social media, what is called doxxing in these uncivilised times, thereby exposing them and their families to violence.
Whether or not the powder keg that is Minneapolis right now sees a repeat of the mayhem and destruction of property it experienced in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd in 2020 remains to be seen. As I write, violent demonstrations are taking place in downtown and south Minneapolis near to where Good was killed. Windows have been smashed at the federal courthouse in Minneapolis. Let’s hope this is the only violence we see this night.
If calm prevails, it won’t be thanks to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, both guilty of demonising ICE as ‘Nazis’. At a press conference after the dreadful event, Walz said Minnesota is at war with the federal government, and Frey told ICE to ‘get the f**k out’ of his city.
With men like these at the helm, heaven help the beautiful city of Minneapolis in the days to come, the city I now call home.
