By Myrka Zambrano and Montana Hirsch

Minneapolis, MN- The Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) led a historic march of 100,000 people through Minneapolis to honor the life of Renee Nicole Good and to demand ICE out of Minnesota. The gathering was not only a show of grief and anger, but a powerful declaration of collective resistance.

On the morning of January 7, community member Renee Good was observing a raid and was murdered by an ICE agent. Good was known as a devoted mother and a neighbor who believed deeply in protecting her community. On the night of her murder, thousands gathered at a vigil and rally organized by MIRAC to mourn her loss.

In the days that followed, the city became a living memorial. Community members marched through neighborhoods, laid flowers at Goods’s memorial, and mobilized together to demand concrete action to remove ICE from Minneapolis. While city leaders spoke from podiums and expressed solidarity, the people were clear that words alone are not enough, demanding real action. No meaningful steps have yet been taken by most officials to ensure that immigrant communities are protected from further ICE terror.

The January 10 march began with a rally in South Minneapolis in Powderhorn Park, not far from where Renee Good was murdered, and in a neighborhood that is highly organized in its resistance to ICE. Rapid Response groups constantly patrol the neighborhood and let ICE know they are not welcome in the city.

During the march, speakers gave voice to the urgency and moral clarity of the moment as tens of thousands of people continued to pour into the streets for hours on end.

Noah Schumacher of the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice (TCC4J) told the crowd, “I think we have some demands, am I right?! are here today to demand ICE get out of MN. We are here today to demand an end to the mass deportations of our immigrant siblings. We are here today to demand Governor Walz tell his National Guard forces to stand down and not repress the people’s movement! We are here today to demand justice for Renee Good, a mother and poet who was murdered in cold blood for trying to protect her neighbors. We are here today to demand an end to the blatant attacks on Black and brown people.”

Dieu Do, a member of MIRAC stated, “You don’t send 2000 agents to a state where you’re meeting your quota. You don’t ask for backup when you’re winning a fight. People see through their deception, and they know their days of terrorizing our communities are coming to an end. Because no matter what resources they have, they can’t outlast our movement. We believe in each other. We believe in this fight. And we believe we can win – because we wouldn’t be here if we didn’t.”

U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar addressed the crowd from the sound truck as the march continued to flood Lake Street stating “They came to terrorize, abduct and deport Somali immigrants here in Minnesota…As they lose their minds trying to intimidate us, I see every day, every single day, neighbors trailing these violent people who are trying to intimidate us under the guise of law enforcement and saying no matter what you do to me you can arrest me or not I am going to document your illegal actions. Because if there is no accountability today there will be accountability tomorrow.”

The immigrant rights movement continues to grow with each march, vigil and act of solidarity. As MIRAC continues to fight back against ICE in the streets, the group is also building for their 20th annual march on May 1 for International Worker’s Day, which they expect to be their biggest march yet. The movement to protect our immigrant brothers and sisters is growing, and justice will be won!

#MinneapolisMN #MN #ImmigrantRights #ReneeGood #ICE #MIRAC #TCC4J #Featured