What Must Be Done and What You Can Do

If ICE is allowed to grow as currently budgeted, more people like Renee Good will die and we won’t have a fair 2026 election. Here’s what you can do.

There have been more than enough “takes” on the shooting of Renee Nicole Good, the unarmed mother of three who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, tried to escape, and was shot three times by an ICE agent whose response to the incident was to say “Fuckin’ Bitch.”

I will go into the details of that encounter below, because they are important. But mostly, I want to write about what needs to be done in response — including what you can do.

Now, when someone tells me ‘what I can do’ about a crisis, often what follows is some admixture of delusion and scolding. But I want to suggest that, amid the tragedy, this is a moment of opportunity. Even before the shooting, Pew research showed that a majority of Americans disapproved of the excessive tactics of Trump, Miller, Noem, Lewandowski, Homan, and ICE. Not only liberals: Joe Rogan has recently complained that the administration is going after “easy pickings” rather than the violent criminals they said they’d deport. Once again, as they have done before, the Trump regime has gotten out over their skis, and they seem congenitally unable to rebalance.

In other words, this moment calls for accommodating conflicting emotions and perceptions at the same time. I am speaking from experience: I’ve felt despair, rage, grief, and plenty of other strong emotions over the last few days. But as I prepared to write this post, as I thought and reflected and gamed out the road ahead, I felt an increasing sense of hope — not dewy-eyed optimism, not minimization of the horror and the danger, but a reality-grounded understanding that the bad guys have once again gone too far, and that this is a moment for resolve.

1. Get Clear on the Facts

Nothing is as disturbing as the events on that Minneapolis street, but the response from the administration and its apologists and propagandists comes close. Before Renee Good’s blood was even wiped from the seats of her SUV, JD Vance was on television calling her a domestic terrorist and lying (since he knows he’s wrong about this) about “absolute immunity” for police officers.

Of course, there was and is no evidence for this, and there never will be. No one can define what “terrorist” means in this context or how it applies to an innocent bystander, even if Good had also been part of an ‘ICE Watch’ group. Activism is not terrorism.

But like it or not, the facts are in dispute, and are more complicated that some progressives have made them out to be. So the first thing that you can and ought to do is watch the videos and come to your own conclusions.

So let’s do it. You can start with this video, from ICE Agent Jonathan Ross’s cellphone, recording the run-up to the shooting. As you can see below, Good is calm, though perhaps scared; her last audible words are “That’s fine, dude — I’m not mad at you.” Her wife is out of the car and antagonistic, though non-violent, non-threatening, and keeping her distance. From this angle, you can see Good cut the wheel to the right, i.e., away from the agents, but it does seem that the car came close to Ross, which some non-partisan analysts have said provided a reasonable belief that his life was in danger. And if this were the only video you see, which is true for many people, you might agree with them. (It’s worth noting that this video was first shared with a conservative news outlet, Alpha News.)

But now, watch the below compilation of videos from four bystanders and Ross, together with analysis by The Minnesota Star Tribune. Here the situation gets much more complicated — and this video isn’t being aired on conservative media. Here, you can see that it is only after the other ICE agent approaches the vehicle and tries to force his way inside that Good’s wife says anxiously, “Drive, baby, drive!” and Good turns the wheel to the right and tries to escape. It is clear that they are trying to escape.

Then, Ross, now a few feet away from the vehicle, fires one shot that hits the windshield but two more shots that go through the driver’s side window, which is inconsistent with him still being in any danger. Ross is heard saying “Fuckin’ bitch” as Good’s SUV careens into a parked car. He later says “Call 911” as the ICE agents leave the scene. No one provides medical care.

Now, here are a few conclusions I draw from this — but again, please do watch the videos for yourself. To me:

• This whole situation should never have happened. There is no reason why the ICE agent had to try to force Good’s car door open. There was no warrant or probable cause. They were not under suspicion of being “illegals” even under Justice Kavanaugh’s race-based analysis. It is true that Good was not complying with the order to exit the car, but that order had no basis in any case (and none was provided), and if Good is part of an ‘ICE Watch’ she knows exactly what would happen if she got out: violence, perhaps a beating, perhaps an arrest and detention in an ICE hellhole. These people were not looking for a fight — they’d just dropped Good’s kid off at school and the dog is in the backseat. They’re looking to get out of there. There was simply no justification for the first agent getting that close to the vehicle and attempting to force his way in.

• It is only when the other agent gets close to the vehicle that Good steps on the gas. She cuts the wheel to the right and takes off. This is inconsistent with an attempt to harm the agents; it’s the opposite. Ross was a yard or two in front of the vehicle, but not directly in front of it. It is not clear whether he jumped back from the SUV or was grazed by it. Obviously he was not injured, or run over (which Trump alleged) or rammed (which Noem alleged). Those are simply lies.

• It may not be a lie that Ross felt himself to be threatened, and under the law, that is the question. And arguably, the first bullet was fired in the heat of the moment. Yet the second and third shots came after any credible threat had passed. There is no justification for using lethal force in that moment. That is not covered by the qualified immunity extended to police officers (and ICE agents are not police officers anyway) which covers judgment calls under duress. By the second shot, the car was turned away from Ross and trying to speed away. But he shot Good in the face.

Do I think this act was “murder”? Section 609.195 of the Minnesota State Statutes states, inter alia, that “Whoever, without intent to effect the death of any person, causes the death of another by perpetrating an act eminently dangerous to others and evincing a depraved mind, without regard for human life, is guilty of murder in the third degree and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than 25 years.” Obviously the shots are eminently dangerous, but it’s a close question whether they evince “a depraved mind” and a disregard for human life, and it’s a debatable question how far qualified immunity, if it applies, should go. This would be a close case for a jury to decide.

It might be better to set aside this legal question, and return to the basic facts. Even if Ross did subjectively feel threatened, there were alternatives available to him, and the second and third shots were fired after the threat had passed. At the very least, this was a terrible lapse in judgment. And, again, this situation should never have arisen in the first place. ICE agents should not be trying to drag civilians out of cars without cause. ICE should not be terrorizing innocent people and catching them in their insane dragnet. ICE agents should receive much better training (do they receive any?) in conflict de-escalation. This wasn’t one rogue agent; this was a system designed to inflict terror and maximize arrests at all costs.

Why is all this relevant? Because of the next action item.

2. Share the Facts, Spread the Word

I don’t advise you to spend much time on right-wing/state media, but rest assured that if you do, you’ll get a whole lot of false propaganda about both the incident in question and Renee Good’s character. This needs to be combated, actively, and social media is the battlefield.

Now, I admit, I’ve personally cleansed my personal social media (as opposed to my Instagram, which I use for work) of anyone whose attitudes I find annoying. But you don’t need MAGA in your feeds in order to make a difference here. I’m sure you have plenty of family and friends who are less engaged with the news — including for quite defensible mental health reasons — and aren’t following the story closely. Put the information in front of them. Whether they choose to consume it or not is their choice, but you’re ensuring that the facts are out there and you’re countering the right-wing narratives that Agent Ross did nothing wrong and that Renee Good was a terrorist who tried to run him over. That is all clearly, demonstrably false.

In doing so, my invitation is to consider messages that might appeal to a more moderate audience, rather than the rage-bait generated by ‘our side’ for clicks or dollars. That includes, in my view, incendiary rhetoric about murder and personally attacking this individual agent; he is not the primary villain of this story. Additionally, while I agree with the slogan ‘Abolish ICE’ — there is too much power centralized in one barely-accountable agency — consider that, to some, that slogan may sound like ‘open borders’ or ‘chaos and lawlessness.’ This isn’t about self-censorship; it’s about putting the needs of other people ahead of your own, and spreading the truth in ways that are likely to be more persuasive to those not already persuaded.

We need to keep this story in the news cycle. As we should all know by now, this regime operates on the Roy Cohn/Steve Bannon theory that the more you flood the zone with shit, the more you punch back immediately and often, the more bamboozled and overwhelmed people will be. I mean, for God’s sake, this is the same two-week period in which Trump kidnapped a foreign leader and said he intends to ‘run’ Venezuela for the foreseeable future – a violation of international law, America First principles, and common sense. It is hard to keep focus on anything.

But keep the focus on Renee Good. It’s right morally and it’s right politically. Remember, mainstream America is not with Trump on this. You have the power to influence people in your circle — not your racist MAGA uncle, but people you might not even know are on the fence. Share wisely, but share and keep sharing.

Imagine this is you, thirty seconds before someone kills you. You just dropped your kid off at school. Your dog is in the back seat.

3. Demand Congress Act with Resolve

I’m not usually a fan of writing letters to Congress or showing up at protests and demonstrations. But these kinds of actions can be helpful at times, and this is one of those times. First, visible protests keep the issue alive and urgent. Second, protests and calls and emails do motivate legislators under the right circumstances, and these are the right circumstances, because there are things Democrats (and the one or two moderate Republicans they need to peel off) can actually do.

Believe it or not, there is yet another Government Shutdown Deadline looming at the end of the month. Right now, Democrats are staying on-message about healthcare and affordability, and with good reason – those are winning issues. And as of now, Chuck Schumer has taken a shutdown off the table.

But the shooting has changed everything. This is absolutely an issue worth going to the mat for, both morally and politically. Had the Trump administration, Fox, and CBS done anything other than dig in and defame Renee Good, then maybe there’d be some room for moderation. But Americans don’t want militias arresting veterans, moms, and construction workers at Home Depot, even if they are here illegally – let alone if they aren’t. This is a moment of opportunity.

Moreover, it’s wrong to think this is either/or. If Democrats have a clear, articulate list of demands, that list can have more than one item on it. This has happened before. You young’uns won’t remember, but Newt Gingrich swept the contemporary GOP to power in 1994 with something called the ‘Contract with America,’ which was a ten-point plan of the New Right. I’ll write more about this in a future issue, but part of the (dark) genius of the Contract was that different constituencies each found something to like.

Democrats should do something similar now. It’s insane to fund DHS at current levels, given the complete lack of discipline, training, and respect for the rule of law that ICE has shown. Remember – we didn’t get to this point all of a sudden and Ross isn’t a bad apple. This is the system working as Miller, Lewandowski, and Homan designed it to work. (ICE Barbie is just a figurehead.)

Democrats need to pull the plug on this madness. Again, not with ‘Abolish ICE’ messaging – that won’t win over a single Republican – but with specific demands:

• Roll back 2026 ICE funding to 2025 levels. (More on this below.)

• End the practice of making arrests without judicial warrants

• Allow congressional visits to ICE facilities without red tape

• Set standards of conduct regarding threats and use of violence that result in disciplinary action if they are violated

• Demand better training and screening of officers

• Ban masks during enforcement operations

• Require Border Patrol to… patrol the border, not city streets

• End arrest quotas

• Conduct a third-party investigation into Good’s death

• Allow Minnesota to conduct its own investigations and possible prosecutions free from federal interference

Axios reports that Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn) is preparing a bill with several of these items on it. Great; that’s a start. Set out the conditions, negotiate, fight.

But it’s up to voters to show Democratic leadership that this issue matters, and two ways to do that are public protests and private phone calls to your representatives. [Thanks to a reader for suggesting 5 Calls as an easy way to do that.] It’s easy to hate on people like Jeffries and Schumer, but their job is, in part, to flip seats and regain the majority; they need to be persuaded that this issue will help, not hurt, those efforts.

And Jeffries, at least, seems to believe that already, telling PBS that “what took place in Minnesota is a complete and total disgrace… And in the next few days, we will be having conversations about a strong and forceful and appropriate response by House Democrats.”

Oh, and if you live in a blue state like mine, which now looks set to pass a strong set of citizen protections, call and email your state legislators too. New York state senator Pat Fahy, who sponsored bills to prohibit ICE agents from wearing masks and create a dashboard tracking immigration officials’ activity, told Politico that “momentum is on our side… To me, this goes beyond immigration. People understand now that masked, armed men in our city and suburban streets [are] seriously eroding any form of public trust in law enforcement. Some of these issues are having more universal appeal.”

4. Remember the Stakes

Here is the most important part, which I’ve saved for last.

Remember that Congress voted to triple ICE’s budget starting this year, appropriating more than $170 billion over four years, more than the yearly budget for all local and state law enforcement agencies combined across the entire United States. As bad as things are, they are about to get much, much worse. This is all just the prologue.

Democrats should go to the mat on this issue, because if Trump, Vance, and Miller create this vast militia that now has a mandate to go after “domestic terrorists” like you and me, how the hell will we even have a fair election in ten months?

This dark period in American history has to end. A majority of Americans wants it to end. No majority ever voted for it; Trump’s victory was based on the economy, not immigration. But it won’t end if we don’t have a fair congressional election this year, and we won’t have a fair election if ICE is patrolling the streets in swing districts.

That is the stakes: not only the offenses against democracy represented by this incident and many others like it, but the practicality of waking up from this nightmare. As averse as I am to optimism, I am even more averse to hyperbolic pessimism, but if “domestic terrorists” include everyone who writes or reads an article like this one, plus everyone Muslim, transgender, Latino, or critical of ICE; and if ICE is super-charged to maintain order everywhere in the country, accountable only to Trump and his minions; I don’t see how the 2026 election proceeds in a way that is truly democratic.

No, America won’t look like Nazi Germany or Stalinist Russia. It will look like Orban’s Hungary, where a lot of life goes on just fine, as long as you don’t question the leader, defend the Roma, or report objectively on the news. Democracy doesn’t need thunderous applause to die; only the slow erasure of truth, bit by bit, until the regime doesn’t even bother to lie convincingly anymore, because they know they no longer need to. Mon Mothma, of course, was right.

Keep Renee Good’s memory alive. Understand the facts, share the story, keep the focus on ICE’s overreach, and don’t allow lies to go unchallenged. This is how the nightmare can end.

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Some more reading on the Renee Good story:

• JD Vance, least charismatic politician in Washington, dug himself a big hole by saying a lot of stuff about Renee Good. Jay Kuo has the receipts and the videos here.

• Jermaine Fowler wrote a stirring essay on the phrase “I don’t care,” shouted by an ICE agent refusing a physician’s offer to help Renee Good.

• If you are feeling personally panicked, afraid, or debilitated, Anya Kamenetz has some advice on how to “take a beat and reclaim our own personal timelines.”

• Zeteo is on the ground in Minneapolis, riding along with civilian protectors.

Finally, here is another solid analysis of the video by a retired police officer. It is essentially the same analysis of mine, but adds that even the first shot contravenes standard rules of engagement:

For subscribers: I look forward to returning to the mix of spiritual, political, and cultural writing that is what this newsletter is about. At the moment, this is the only story on my mind and in my heart so that’s what I chose to focus on. Thanks for sharing this piece with your networks and for being part of the Both/And community.