Look at how politicians framed ICE shooting of Renee Good
By Connor Lālea Hampton, January 20, 2026
How government officials encourage you to feel is usually the key to understanding how they justify their actions, which is why it’s extremely important to pay attention.
The U.S. Department of Labor posted a tweet Jan. 10, which garnered tens of millions of views. The words “One homeland. One People. One Heritage. Remember who you are, American,” hang above a video of historic images. It’s everything from the American dream to western expansion, and it’s edited like some kind of Chad manosphere video.
One Homeland. One People. One Heritage.
Remember who you are, American. pic.twitter.com/2eh8njcz9Z
— U.S. Department of Labor (@USDOL) January 11, 2026
Without the context of our political environment, the tweet might not sound terrible. But it doesn’t parallel well with the recent shooting of Renee Nicole Good by 10-year ICE veteran Jonathan Ross.
Some X users also pointed out the similarities between the tweet and the Nazi slogan: “One people, one realm, one leader.” This was one of many white nationalist tweets sent out through different government accounts.
I showed this to my right-wing stepmother, and she scoffed at my ridiculousness to insinuate the government is reflecting disturbing propaganda.
But why might the government want us to focus on this kind of message only three days after the shooting, if not to make us reflect on why we should all believe America would be better with no protestors and no people from different heritages?
If the immigration beat is only about protecting kids from criminals, I’m not sure why they feel the need to send this kind of stuff out.
Sone of the last words Good said to ICE while protesting were: “That’s fine dude. I’m not mad at you.”
And yet, this tweet sent out by the DOL feels like they want us to be mad at her.
To me, the DOL’s tweet was a “remember the mission, remember your place” kind of thing. Remember the America we are trying to make, the one Good is getting in the way of.
If you’re white, it’s possible you’ve never been forced to consider how you fit into the conservative America picture. You’ve probably never experienced how isolating it can be to be a part of a non-white culture, surrounded by people who don’t care to make space for it.
That fear of other cultures is something that has been growing far before I was born. This kind of ideology wants you to feel angry, like things are spiraling out of control thanks to protestors like Good and the immigrants she’s protesting for.
Yet, when compassion is sacrificed in the name of order, we must analyze who gets sacrificed and who benefits from the sacrifice.
If you’d like to understand the full details of the incident, I’d suggest watching a lawyer or another unbiased party break it down. I liked LegalEagle’s analysis on YouTube. The videos of the shooting online go fast, so it’s easy to get caught up in all the nitty gritty details of the case.
“In my 25 years I’ve done hundreds of vehicle stops,” retired ICE agent Eric Balliet told CBS News Los Angeles. “If someone is slain, that is not a justification for the use of deadly force.”
Homeland Security alternatively claims Good was purposefully attempting to run over Ross in an act of domestic terrorism.
There’s been no investigation though because the Department of Justice says they won’t do it.
What’s equally interesting is the choice of words, like “domestic terrorism.” That phrase directly suggests Good was aiming to attack her own country and fellow citizens, which doesn’t seem reasonable.
President Donald Trump said Good “viciously” ran Ross over, an act stemming from a “movement of violence in hate.” If you watch LegalEagle’s video, it doesn’t seem that way, and from some angles, it looks like Ross pulls his gun out before Good started pulling forward.
The U.S. government will do laps before admitting immigrants or their cause are correct. Our president does not want us to feel compassion for them, so him and his cabinet memberspush disproportionate statistics about their criminal activity that don’t reflect real life. Then the government benefits by being exempt from the law and common decency.
They don’t want us to feel compassion for Good, so ICE can benefit when we forget to ask if this kind of violence is justified.
I am not willing to sacrifice compassion for an order that is not reasonable or just.
It shouldn’t be crazy to believe, every person, especially immigrants deserve access to fair trials and treatment under the law in the United States.
It is deeply important to consider what our government is asking us to believe about a situation without considering their goals first.
Feature graphic courtesy of Connor Lālea Hampton
