By the weekend, the streets across the United States were loud, crowded, and angry. A national coalition of organising groups called for a coordinated “ICE Out For Good Weekend of Action,” with 1,006 protests and events planned across all 50 states.
Killing of Renee Nicole Good shocked the nation
The protests come just days after Renee Nicole Good, 37, was fatally shot by an ICE agent, while sitting in her car in Minneapolis. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says the agent fired in self-defense, claiming Good was a threat to federal officers. But Tim Walz, Minnesota’s governor, and other Democrats sharply criticised ICE’s actions and demanded a thorough investigation.
The shooting happened on a residential street in south Minneapolis, less than a mile from where George Floyd was killed by police in 2020. Since then, vigils and protests have spread across the country. Good was a mother of three and a poet. She was also a volunteer who helped record and monitor ICE activity in her neighbourhood.
“We are all living in fear right now,” said Meghan Moore, a mother of two from Minneapolis told PBS. “ICE is creating an environment where nobody feels safe and that’s unacceptable.”
Anger over aggressive immigration enforcement
The anger did not stop with Minneapolis. Just days later, two people were shot in Portland, Oregon, by another federal agent during an immigration operation. The Trump administration said those shootings were also acts of self-defense, claiming drivers tried to “weaponise” their vehicles.
DHS says its operation in the Twin Cities is its ‘largest-ever immigration enforcement action’, with more than 2,000 federal officers deployed. ICE activity has been reported “all over the city,” with cars abandoned after drivers were detained. Connor Maloney, who attended the Minneapolis protest, said the crackdown feels constant. “Almost daily I see them harassing people,” he told PBS. “It’s just sickening that it’s happening in our community around us.”
A growing demand for accountability, not chaos
The weekend protests were organised by groups including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the 50501 Movement, and Indivisible. Organisers said the rallies are meant to honour lives lost, demand accountability, and call for ICE to be removed from local communities.
“All actions under this banner are nonviolent and lawful, community-led, and grounded in moral witness, public accountability, and collective care,” the Workers Circle told Newsweek.
Most demonstrations remained peaceful. But tensions flared in Minneapolis on Friday night, when about 1,000 protesters gathered outside a hotel where ICE agents were believed to be staying. Windows were shattered, graffiti was sprayed, and police deployed around 100 state troopers. One officer suffered minor injuries.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey warned against violence. “This is what Donald Trump wants,” Frey wrote on X. “He wants us to take the bait.”
Walz wrote something similar on X, “Trump sent thousands of armed federal officers into our state, and it took just one day for them to kill someone,” Walz posted. “Now he wants nothing more than to see chaos distract from that horrific action. Don’t give him what he wants.”