Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched through Minneapolis on Saturday to protest the fatal shooting of a woman by a U.S. immigration officer, as part of more than 1,000 rallies held nationwide over the weekend opposing the federal government’s deportation campaign.
Despite strong, freezing winds, the turnout in Minneapolis highlighted the depth of public anger following the death of 37-year-old Renee Good, who was shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer on Wednesday. The incident has sparked protests in major U.S. cities as well as smaller towns.
Minnesota’s Democratic leaders and the Republican administration of President Donald Trump have offered sharply contrasting versions of events surrounding the shooting.
In Minneapolis, a metropolitan area with a population of about 3.8 million, demonstrators led by Indigenous Mexican dancers marched toward the residential street where Good was shot while seated in her vehicle.
The crowd, estimated by the Minneapolis Police Department to number in the tens of thousands, chanted Good’s name along with slogans such as “Abolish ICE” and “No justice, no peace — get ICE off our streets.”
“I’m insanely angry, completely heartbroken and devastated, and then just like longing and hoping that things get better,” Ellison Montgomery, a 30-year-old protester, told Reuters.
Minnesota officials have described the shooting as unjustified, citing bystander video footage that they say shows Good’s car turning away from the officer as he fired.
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, has defended the agent’s actions, saying he acted in self-defense. DHS said Good, who volunteered with a community group that monitors ICE activity in Minneapolis, drove her vehicle toward the officer after another agent approached the driver’s side and ordered her to exit the car.
The shooting occurred shortly after about 2,000 federal officers were deployed to the Minneapolis–St. Paul area in what DHS has described as its largest operation to date, widening an already tense divide between the Trump administration and Democratic state leaders.
Tensions escalated further on Thursday when a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Portland, Oregon, shot and wounded a man and a woman during an attempted traffic stop. Using language similar to its account of the Minneapolis incident, DHS said the driver attempted to “weaponize” the vehicle and strike agents.
The two DHS-related shootings prompted a coalition of progressive and civil rights organizations — including Indivisible and the American Civil Liberties Union — to organize more than 1,000 demonstrations nationwide under the banner “ICE Out For Good” on Saturday and Sunday. Organizers said the rallies were scheduled to end before nightfall to reduce the risk of violence.
In Philadelphia, protesters marched from City Hall to a rally outside a federal detention facility, chanting “ICE has got to go” and “No fascist USA,” according to a local ABC affiliate. In Manhattan, several hundred demonstrators carried anti-ICE signs past an immigration court where agents have detained migrants following hearings.
“We demand justice for Renee, ICE out of our communities, and action from our elected leaders. Enough is enough,” said Leah Greenberg, co-executive director of Indivisible.
Demonstrations Mostly Peaceful
Minnesota had already become a focal point of the administration’s immigration enforcement efforts months before Good’s death, with Trump criticizing Democratic leaders amid a major welfare fraud investigation involving members of the state’s Somali-American community.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat who has criticized both immigration enforcement tactics and the shooting, said earlier on Saturday that most demonstrations had remained peaceful and warned that police would arrest anyone engaged in property damage or illegal activity.
“We will not counter Donald Trump’s chaos with our own brand of chaos,” Frey said. “He wants us to take the bait.”
City officials said more than 200 law enforcement officers were deployed Friday night after protests resulted in roughly $6,000 in damage at the Depot Renaissance Hotel and after some demonstrators unsuccessfully attempted to enter the Hilton Canopy Hotel, which authorities believe was housing ICE agents.
Police Chief Brian O’Hara said some protesters vandalized property and broke windows at the Depot Renaissance Hotel. He said a gathering at the Hilton Canopy Hotel began as a “noise protest” but escalated as more than 1,000 demonstrators arrived, leading to 29 arrests.
“We initiated a plan and took our time to de-escalate the situation, issued multiple warnings, declaring an unlawful assembly, and ultimately then began to move in and disperse the crowd,” O’Hara said.
House Representatives Turned Away From Ice Facility
Three Democratic members of Minnesota’s congressional delegation arrived Saturday morning at a regional ICE headquarters near Minneapolis, where protesters have clashed with federal agents in recent days, but were denied entry. The lawmakers said the refusal was unlawful.
“We made it clear to ICE and DHS that they were violating federal law,” U.S. Representative Angie Craig told reporters outside the Whipple Federal Building in St. Paul, alongside Representatives Kelly Morrison and Ilhan Omar.
Federal law prohibits DHS from barring members of Congress from entering ICE detention facilities, though the agency has increasingly restricted such oversight visits, leading to repeated confrontations with Democratic lawmakers.
“It is our job as members of Congress to make sure those detained are treated with humanity, because we are the damn United States of America,” Craig said.
Responding to the overnight protests and damage at Minneapolis hotels, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said the lawmakers were denied entry to protect “the safety of detainees and staff, and in compliance with the agency’s mandate.”
She added that DHS policy requires members of Congress to give ICE at least seven days’ notice before visiting detention facilities.
