Three days earlier, Corey Ruiz was fatally shot in Madison, Wisconsin. Nine days before that, Joan Sebastian Guerrero was brutally murdered by ICE in Maine, in front of his one-year-old daughter. And just the night before, word came through that the “drugs” DHS had used to smear Lorenzo Salgado Araujo had tested negative, too late to undo the damage of the accusation. This is the backdrop against which the riders gathered: a rolling body count that never seems to pause long enough for anyone to catch their breath.

The day's program opened a block from George Floyd Square.

Tiffany Dunlap, defendant number 17 of the Righteous 39, took the mic first, speaking of the repression being brought against activists, followed by Michelle Gross of Communities United Against Police Brutality (CUAPB). Then came Jeanelle Austin, the Square's lead caretaker, who tied together the history of police oppression in South Minneapolis. She said, “We have to keep organizing, we have to keep standing, we have to keep fighting for each other, for our neighbors. We have to keep shouting from the rooftops to make sure we organize more people to stand with us so we can end the state-sanctioned violence.”

From there, the ride carried the crowd to Lake Street and Bloomington Avenue, an intersection that holds real weight in the history of Metro Surge, as the site of the first mass ICE action in Minneapolis under Donald Trump’s second administration. Isavela López described the ties between historical oppression of indigenous Americans and modern police repression of immigrant communities. She faced charges for nothing more than standing up for her neighbors during that raid.

López reminded the crowd, “It's more than me at this point. These are people that want to just help their neighbors; that have honest hearts; that want to learn more; that want to be advocates. I know at the end of the day there will be justice.” López's case is not an outlier. The same repression shows up in the cases of the Righteous 39 and the Minnesota 15, and in the century-long sentences being handed to activists in Texas.

A member of Asamblea de Derechos Civiles spoke after her about the atrocities families are facing every day.

The ride's next stop carried a different kind of weight, the memorial for Alex Pretti. Anusha Ramaswami of the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice (TCC4J) led a moment of silence here, honoring Pretti alongside the latest life lost in Madison.

Then there was a stop at the memorial for Renee Good. Here, Alissa Washington, the director of the Wrongfully Incarcerated and Over-sentenced Families Council, spoke of her childhood friend Terrence Franklin, murdered by police in May 2013. She also spoke of her cousin Stephen Washington, who died in prison because of officer negligence, days before he was set to walk free.

Washington spoke of her own ongoing fight – 20 years spent trying to win freedom for her wrongfully incarcerated fiancé, Cornelius “Corn” Jackson, locked away for a crime he never committed. On July 2, Washington’s 72-year-old uncle was detained by ICE. As the group gathered that Saturday, he was being processed for deportation. Washington is now raising his four children, and she asked the crowd for donations of school supplies for those kids, which people can arrange through the Instagram page for the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice (@tcc4j).

Washington stated, “When I say these struggles are personal, I mean every word. I had mourned my childhood friend because of police violence here in Minneapolis. I have buried my cousin because of police negligence here in Minnesota. I fight every day for the freedom of the man I love. And now, I am helping raise my uncle's children because ICE decided to tear another family apart. This movement isn't something I clock into, this is my life. This is my family!”

The ride closed where it began. Angie Cisneros Rosero of the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) took the mic for the day's final word, “Let us remember the strength in our broken hearts. They see us united. They see people who continue to fight even with tears in their eyes. The problem is not that people don't care. We need collective power. Power so strong that the system can no longer govern in the same way. The only way we will see justice, is if we the people organize and make it happen.”

MIRAC currently has a campaign to get Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and all gubernatorial candidates to sign an executive order regarding a number of issues discussed here. If you are interested in signing a petition to pressure these politicians to act, please go to https://c.org/kCzgWPgx48.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #ImmigrantRights #MIRAC #AlexPretti #ReneeGood

Santa Ana, CA – El 24 de enero, cerca de 100 miembros de la comunidad de toda Santa Ana se congregaron en la esquina de las calles Bristol y 1st, coreando: “¡ICE asesino, fuera de nuestras calles!” Los manifestantes exigieron justicia para Alex Pretti, la víctima más reciente de los agentes federales asesinos que aterrorizan a Minnesota. También exigieron la salida de ICE del condado de Orange y el fin de las deportaciones en todo el país.

Diana Terreros, de la Organización de Servicio Comunitario Condado de Orange (CSO OC), inauguró el evento declarando: “Estamos aquí porque un agente de la Patrulla Fronteriza disparó y mató a Alex Pretti esta misma mañana en Minnesota. Alex Pretti era un observador comunitario de ICE y enfermero de cuidados intensivos. ¡Los agentes que lo abatieron a tiros a plena luz del día le dispararon más de diez veces, como unos cobardes!”

Terreros también declaró: “¡Estamos aquí en solidaridad con Minnesota! ¡También estamos aquí porque nuestra propia ciudad ha estado bajo ataque por parte de agentes del ICE desde que Trump asumió el cargo, y esta semana han desatado una ofensiva en Santa Ana y en todo el condado de Orange! Los queremos fuera de nuestra ciudad, fuera de nuestro condado.”

Matthew Compton, miembro de la Organización Socialista Camino a la Libertad (OSCL), declaró: “En Santa Ana hemos observado un aumento en las redadas del ICE y en el uso de armas de fuego contra los observadores del ICE. Pero cuando llega el Departamento de Policía de Santa Ana, apuntan sus armas contra las personas que están luchando contra la agenda de Trump.”

“¡Estas matanzas, toda esta violencia, no terminarán por sí solas! ¡Debemos ponerles fin! ¡Debemos organizarnos y luchar colectivamente! Esta administración permite que ocurra esta violencia y niega cualquier tipo de rendición de cuentas. ¡Por eso, nosotros, el pueblo, debemos exigirla! ¡Debemos luchar por ella!” instó Rain Mendoza, del Comité de Inmigración de la CSO.

Thomas Crisp, de la organización Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE), declaró: “Cuando los padres son arrebatados de sus hijos por matones enmascarados, cuando Keith Porter o Renee Good reciben disparos por intentar resistir la brutalidad de manera no violenta, estas son violaciones de la dignidad humana”. También convocaron a guardar un momento de silencio mientras se colocaban velas y flores para honrar a las víctimas de los agentes del ICE.

Los conductores hicieron sonar sus bocinas en señal de apoyo durante todo el evento y mientras los manifestantes marchaban por la calle Bristol. Los manifestantes ocuparon todos los carriles de tráfico y portaban pancartas exigiendo la salida de ICE de Santa Ana y justicia para las víctimas de ICE. Consignas como “¡Chinga la migra!” y “¡Legalización para todos!” resonaron en los vecindarios adyacentes.

La protesta fue organizada por CSO OC, con el apoyo de otros grupos locales, incluidos OSCL, CLUE y otros.

CSO lucha por el control comunitario de la policía y por la legalización de todas las personas indocumentadas. Tiene reuniones generales cada tercer jueves en Santa Ana; se les puede contactar en Instagram a través de @cso.oc o en Facebook, buscando CSO Orange County.

#SantaAnaCA #CA #ImmigrantRights #DerechosDeLosInmigrantes #AlexPretti #ICE #CSOOC

Santa Ana, CA – On Saturday, February 7, Santa Ana residents gathered to honor the one-month anniversary of the murder of Renee Good by Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) agent Jonathon Ross. The demonstration highlighted other victims murdered by ICE including Keith Porter, Alex Pretti, Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez and Geraldo Lunas Campos.

The crowd gathered on the corner of Bristol and 1st, a busy intersection. They marched across the intersection chanting, “Killer ICE off our streets!” and “Migra fuera de Santa Ana!”

Cars and pedestrians passing by the spirited crowd honked and chanted in support. Santa Ana has been hit with heavy ICE raids since the summer of 2025. Since then, the residents of Santa Ana have been protesting ICE, doing barrio walks to inform the community of their rights, and ICE watching.

The demonstration was put on by Community Service Organization Orange County in response to a call to action by the Legalization for All Network.

#SantaAnaCA #CA #ImmigrantRights #ICE #ReneeGood #AlexPretti #L4A #CSOOC

Franklin Park, IL – Community members came together, February 7, in a powerful action to honor the lives stolen by the racist terror of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Over 25 people gathered at Casa DuPage Workers Center in Wheaton, for the collective construction and decoration of three altars for the martyrs Silverio Villegas González, Renee Good, and Alex Pretti.

The event was organized by Casa DuPage Workers Center, with support from ALMAS – Alliance of Latinos Motivating Action in the Suburbs, and Latin Chamber of Commerce of DuPage. They acted in response to the national call for demonstrations issued by the Legalization for All Network, marking one month since the murder of Renee Good at the hands of ICE and demanding justice for all those murdered by ICE.

Participants created paper flowers, papel picado (colorful paper with designs cut into it), paintings to keep the martyrs’ memories alive, and symbolism and slogans to represent them and their involvement in the struggle.

The partner of Villegas Gonzalez, Blanca Mora, also attended the event. Through tears, she thanked the assembled participants for their support while her family continues to grieve. Blanca put on Silverio’s favorite music while the altars were constructed.

Later, the crowd moved to Franklin Park, to the location where González was murdered by ICE, for a candlelight vigil. The air was filled with the chants of the mass movement: “El pueblo unido jamás será vencido!” “Silverio vive, la lucha sigue!” “ICE mata!” and of course “Chinga la migra!” The demand was clear and unified: ICE out, end raids and deportations, and send the murderous agents to prison.

“Silverio, Renee, and Alex are alive compañeros! They are alive in our struggle for justice! They remind us to fight and keep fighting until their murderers are in jail!” declared Cristobal Cavazos, executive director of Casa DuPage Workers Center. Cavazos connected the mass struggle now being waged to the cultural traditions of the Day of the Dead, stating “We the living have not forgotten Silverio Villegas Gonzalez, Renee Nicole Good, or Alex Jeffrey Pretti, we remember them, and we carry on their struggle, and in this way, they are resurrected.”

The event demonstrated that collective grief and healing foster a commitment to fight back. As the crowd dispersed, a group photo was taken and participants vowed to work together to cultivate a culture of resistance.

#FranklinParkIL #IL #ImmigrantRights #InJusticeSystem #ReneeGood #AlexPretti