On January 7th, 2026, Renee Nicole Good was shot 3 times in the face by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.) personnel. Good had been leaving in her maroon Honda when an ICE agent, Jonathan Ross, shot her. Good was a 37-year-old, U.S. citizen, mother of three; she was a writer, poet, and activist. At the time of the federal ICE operation in Minneapolis, Good’s wife, Becca Good, was also a part of the peaceful protest and observation of ICE’s actions.
Nicole Renee Good has not been the only one to die at the hands of ICE agents; last year, 32 people died in ICE detention agencies. Two weeks ago, a man named Keith Porter was killed by an off-duty ICE agent; he was an African American U.S. citizen. Both individuals were defenseless. Good’s final words to the agents had been “That’s fine, dude, I’m not mad at you,” while Jonathan Ross’ final words had been derogatory terms and profanity.
Since the murder of Good, hundreds of thousands have gathered in several major cities and lesser-known towns to protest ICE and the acts it has committed. There were nearly 1,200 protests and vigils held in honor of Good, including in major cities: Minneapolis, New York, Los Angeles, Portland, Boston, and El Paso. The weekend after Good’s passing was deemed “ICE Out for Good” by activists from the 10th to the 11th of January 2026. In Minneapolis alone, there were tens of thousands of people marching that Saturday and many days after.
Yesterday, January 20th, 2026, there was a nationwide organized walkout for schools, workplaces, and businesses alike. Walkouts have been organized for centuries, used to disrupt norms, challenge power, and “show a collective refusal,” according to womensmarch on Instagram. Walkouts aren’t supposed to be conventional or convenient, and after this month’s events, their purpose was to prove that life as it seems isn’t business as usual. For example, there were marches for civil rights in Washington, anti-Vietnam war demonstrations, AIDS walkout on Wall Street, Pro-choice for women rally, and more.
At the Golden Globes, many celebrities wore “ICE OUT” and “BE GOOD” pins as they walked the red carpet. Mark Ruffalo, Wanda Skyes, Jean Smart, and other actors utilized the pins to represent Renee Nicole Good’s death. In an interview with the Instagram page pickx_fr, Mark Ruffalo said, “We have to get out and stop it… We have to be brave now.” He continued to share the struggles of poor healthcare, access to food, and poor enforcement of justice.
