Hundreds turned out Thursday evening in Irondequoit to protest the deadly shooting of a woman by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis.
The demonstration was part of a nationwide outpouring that has spawned similar protests not just in Minneapolis but also in New York City, New Orleans, Philadelphia and Boston.
Locally, hundreds of people lined either side of Pattonwood Drive near the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Rochester border patrol station. They raised signs reading, "ICE murdered an American," "Abolish ICE now!" and "Stop the Lies" and chanted amid a cacophony of honking horns from passing motorists.
Another protest is set for 5 p.m. Friday outside City Hall in Geneva.
Renee Nicole Good, 37, was killed after an ICE agent shot into the driver’s side of her SUV. Video of the incident show ICE agents approaching and stepping in front of Good’s vehicle. When she reverses, then pulls forward, an agent opens fire.
"She was documented," the Rev. Myra Brown told the crowd in Irondequoit, speaking through a loudspeaker. "She was also in her car, not interfering with an arrest to warrant the demand to get out of her car. She was also not assaulting an officer, warranting an officer pulling on her door or blocking her car from pulling away. So what was this really about?
"This should never have happened," Brown continued. "This should stop us all in our tracks. If they can come for Renee Nicole Good, they can come for you and me."
Vice President J.D. Vance on Thursday described Good as “part of a broader left-wing network to attack, to dox, to assault and to make it impossible for our ICE officers to do their job.” He said the media is “lying” about what happened, and claimed Good was “trying to ram this guy with her car. He shot back, he defended himself.”
That claim has been widely rejected by officials in Minnesota.
Michi Wenderlich is campaign and policy coordinator for Metro Justice, one of several organizing groups behind Thursday’s protest.
“We need all of our leaders to stand up together and say that ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is not welcome in our communities, to recognize that they are an illegitimate, militarized police force, demand that they get out of our cities, and un-fund them,” Wenderlich said.
Donald Martell is with the Rochester chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. He said the moment the country is in is a stark reminder of the need for community action.
"I think I see the need to continue organizing at a local level and for a complete change to how we structure society," Martell said, "To where we don't have these agents running through the street, where immigrants are welcome, where everyone is taken care of. So we don't have these fascists running through the street trying to kidnap people and violate people's rights."
In Monroe County, elected officials have condemned the actions of ICE after the shooting.
Mayor Malik Evans called the fatal shooting "yet another disastrous example of the dangerous chaos being sown by the federal government across U.S. cities every day."
In a statement, Monroe County Executive Adam Bello said: "The chaos created by the Trump administration, both through their brazen actions and their irresponsible statements, is creating an environment that is endangering communities and has now led to an unnecessary death. Their handling of immigration enforcement is not keeping anyone safe.”
Rochester City Council members called the shooting a "murder," writing in a statement: “A civilian, a U.S. citizen, was shot and killed in broad daylight, in public view, in front of cameras. This individual posed no visible threat, committed no crime, and was violently killed during a federal immigration operation. What the public witnessed was not law enforcement — it was a violent killing. Murder.”
The Democratic majority caucus of the Monroe County Legislature said ICE’s militarization has reached a tipping point.
“Using the military and federal law enforcement in our communities in the way that we have witnessed in recent months is completely inconsistent with the way that the framers of our Constitution intended,” the statement reads. “It has never been about keeping our communities safe. Rather, these tactics have been used to sow fear and create chaos, which could be used to justify more draconian actions in the future. Because we support the members of law enforcement and the military, we call for an immediate end to this practice.”
Congressman Joe Morelle, D-Irondequoit, said he plans to use “every tool available to demand answers from Secretary Noem.”
“This death lies squarely at the feet of the Trump administration,” Morelle said. “It is the result of reckless rhetoric, dangerous policy choices, and the aggressive deployment of inadequately trained officers. America is less safe when volatile ICE officers operate with impunity in our communities.”
