01/10/2026
We are heartbroken and outraged by the killing of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent participating in the federal siege of Minneapolis. This shooting is part of an intolerable pattern. According to reporting by The Trace, immigration agents have shot 16 people over the past year, killing four of them: Renee Good, Keith Porter, Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez, and a 31-year-old Mexican citizen who has not been named in the media.
Despite clear video evidence that Renee Good was no threat to the agent who killed her or to anyone else, the Trump regime has spread outrageous lies about her. They have smeared her as a "domestic terrorist" and claimed that she was trying to harm the agent with her car. The dissonance between the video evidence of Good's murder and the Trump regime's lies about it demonstrates that we can never trust this regime when they attempt to justify the violence of their agents.
We grieve with the people of Minneapolis mourning the loss of another neighbor. Renee Good was killed less than a mile from the place where George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in 2020. Here we note another outrageous pattern: immediately following Floyd's death, the Minneapolis police issued misinformation claiming he had died of a "medical incident." We only know the truth because of the video recorded by a young bystander.
We know why this keeps happening. Our white supremacist culture treats Black and brown community members as disposable, subjecting them to the violence of policing, poverty, and other forms of structural racism in order to bolster an economy designed to enrich a small number of people at the expense of everyone else. The Trump regime is rapidly accelerating this white supremacist violence at home and abroad.
Renee Good refused to abandon her Black and brown neighbors to the regime's ethnic cleansing campaign. She showed up for them in love and solidarity, and agents of the state responded with deadly violence and vicious lies.
As racial justice organizers committed to moving white people into accountable action for collective liberation, we won't abandon our neighbors either. While no one should fear being murdered for exercising basic rights, we will never allow fear to break our solidarity. We keep us safe.
In this devastating moment, we encourage our members to channel heartbreak and outrage into action. While Buffalo has not been in the national spotlight, our neighbors are also being targeted by immigration agents every day. There are many ways to support directly impacted community members. We recommend following local groups like Justice for Migrant Families, Buffalo Immigrant and Refugee Defense, and New York Immigration Coalition for opportunities to plug in to this work. You can also read about local immigration enforcement activity, and tell your local elected representatives that we want ICE out of our community. If you witness any immigration enforcement activity, immediately call or text the BIRD hotline: (716) 222-2190. We also recommend reaching out to any friends, neighbors, or acquaintances who are currently suffering due to the brutality of this regime. Simple acts like offering a meal, childcare support, or assistance with errands matter more than ever now. We take care of us.
In solidarity,
SURJ Buffalo Leadership Team
