By Karina Perez, January 20, 2026
Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen from Minneapolis, was killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jan. 7 after trying to leave the scene in her vehicle where the officer met her with gunfire, according to NBC News.
Homeland Security Kristi Noem stated the ICE agent was only defending himself after Good attempted to “‘weaponize her vehicle’” CNN reported. But multiple videos uploaded from the day of the incident have led many to argue otherwise.
“(The ICE agent) used his training to save his own life and that of his colleagues,” Noem said in a press conference held the night of the incident.
Tensions from both political parties have been on the rise since. USA Today reported that Vice President J.D. Vance believes Good’s death was nothing more than a “‘tragedy of her own making’” clearly in defence of the ICE agent. He claims that the issue has everything to do with the “leftist network.”
“Being part of a network doesn’t justify being shot, but ramming an ICE officer with your car, that’s what justifies being shot,” Vance said in a press conference held the day after Good’s death.
NBC News reported that Vance claims that the media is being censored by the “leftist network” to disguise Good’s death as a one sided tragedy. Similar to Noem, Vance uses this sort of vernacular as an attempt to justify the actions of the ICE agent involved.
“(Renee Nicole Good) didn’t deserve that,” said Mexican American Student Association
President Victoria Morales. “No one does.”
A GoFundMe was made in an effort to support Good’s family and has raised up to $1.5 million before they closed the campaign, reported by The Guardian.
The democratic party proposes state law changes to restrict ICE agents’ involvement in the public according to KVUE. They reported that the democrats would also push bills to the red states in order to gain nationwide support for the increase in restrictions that ICE agents could enforce in an effort to limit the casualties and to never witness a death such as Good’s again.
Given Cal Poly Pomona is home to a predominantly large Latino and Hispanic community, according to the Office of Undergraduate Research, students, staff, and faculty have grown concerned over the past year of what to expect if ICE ever came to campus.
The CPP community was at a loss when a student, who reported for their routine immigration appointment, was deported just last year.
These concerns have only continued to rise among CPP students and organizations like the Mexican American Student Association and Latin sorority Gamma Upsilon after Good was killed.
“It was a tragedy,” said Gamma Upsilon President Ana Francia Lecuona. “As Latinos, we feel targeted but seeing that it’s not just us is even scarier, too.”
The Lambda Theta Alpha Latin sorority was established to support women in higher education through social and educational programs like I Stand With Immigrants. MASA’s goal is to build community among first generation students in college through events of community service and social gatherings.
“There’s no empathy or consideration for (ICE agents’) actions,” Lecuona said. “It’s vile and pure evil.”
Like Minneapolis, many civilians have resorted to phone video coverage in an effort to provide aid to heavily-targeted communities. The city of Pomona’s Instagram has been helpful for the CPP community to receive news and updates on any presence of Immigration enforcement. They came out with a statement that reassured residents with additional support like the Rapid Response Line on Jan. 8.
“Everyone is in danger at this point,” Morales said. “ICE just seems to not care anymore.”
Feature image courtesy of BBC News
