ICE killing ignites mass protest in Northampton, across county

NORTHAMPTON — On the same day the federal government announced plans to surge more law enforcement to Minneapolis in the wake of the shooting death of a U.S. citizen by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, residents throughout Hampshire County took to the streets on Sunday to demand accountability for the killing and to call for an end to raids by ICE and Border Patrol agents.

In Northampton, more than 600 outraged, yet peaceful, protestors flooded downtown to remember Renee Nicole Good, the 37-year-old Minnesota wife and mother killed by ICE agent Jonathan Ross on Jan. 7, and to push against ICE and its work to deport immigrants lacking permanent legal status under the Trump administration.

The standout was part of a national ICE Out For Good movement that culminated in thousands of protests nationwide over the weekend. In addition to Northampton, hundreds more turned out for similar events in Easthampton, Hadley and Amherst, among other Hampshire County communities.

Protesters in Northampton made clear their view that Good’s fatal shooting was not an isolated incident, with many pointing out that just a day later, on Jan. 8, immigrants Luis David Nino-Moncada and Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras were shot by ICE agents in Portland, Oregon.

Main Street was shut down for more than an hour Sunday beginning at 2 p.m. as protesters formed a procession from City Hall to the corner of Pleasant and King streets. Along the way, people sang songs as a tribute to Good, who loved to sing and was a creative writer. Many protesters waved homemade signs with various messages, some of which included “ICE out forever,” “Ban ICE, jail fascists,” “Stop killing peaceful protestors,” and, “Due process is for everyone.”

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has downplayed the shootings, calling Good a “professional agitator” who tried to use her car as a weapon against ICE agents.

State Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa, D-Northampton, addressing the crowd from the front steps of City Hall, said that what ICE is doing is “just f—— wrong,” adding that what is taking place under the Trump administration is the boiling point after decades of hateful rhetoric.

“This is decades of hatred building up until it boiled over where there is a good 40% of this country that thinks what’s happening is just fine,” she said.

She said all that’s happening can’t be counteracted with a single bill, but called upon her constituents and people outside her district to bombard their representatives with messages calling for legislation to protect immigrants.

Currently in the State House, the “Safe Communities Act” and “Dignity not Deportations Act” are waiting to be passed, and the Immigrant Legal Defense Fund has allocated some $5 million toward legal counselors for immigrants lacking permanent legal status.

“You don’t need to remember those three names. All you need to do is write and call and do it every day, whether it’s to me or another legislator or a legislator in another district,” said Sabadosa. “You need us to know that if we do nothing else this session, we need to put a line in the sand and say, ‘our police protect us, they don’t collaborate with ICE.'”

The event was organized Indivisible Northampton-Swing Left Western Mass, River Valley Freedom Road Socialist Organization and Northampton Resists. One of its organizers, Beth Lev, brought some 300 information cards to distribute to the crowd but quickly ran out as the size of the crowd swelled to twice that many people. 

Protesters featured a melting pot of backgrounds, age groups and even animals as families and their pets made their way down Main Street, and the Academy of Music delayed its 2 p.m. event to allow members of the audience to join the processional protest.

Willard Brown said he felt compelled to attend from his home in Worthington because that inaction is what has led fascists to come to power in the past.

“If there’s even a 1% chance the people you’re putting in power are going to lead you down that slippery slope, that’s too big a percentage,” said Brown. “We’ve seen what inaction can lead to in history. These things [fascism] need to be stopped as early as possible. We need government officials on both sides of the aisle to start working together.”

Northampton couple Kim and Brian Krussel came to give their children an experience of what peaceful protests look like while standing up for immigrant rights.

“We want to continue to welcome immigrants into our community here in Northampton and throughout the country. A lot has to change,” said Brian Krussell, as he held one of his two young children in a front carrier and his other sat in a stroller.

While the protest remained peaceful, two counter-protestors wearing Trump gear tried stirring the pot as they went around flashing Roman-salutes and verbally harassing people.

Protester Jay Sullivan, who followed the two around, said one was an older gentleman with a beard and waving a Trump flag, while the younger of the two wore a Trump flag as a cape and a ski mask on his face. Sullivan’s goal was to protect protesters and see that the day ends peacefully.

Women standing nearby, who did not want to provide their names, said the two were going around harassing people, but nothing escalated to the point of needing police involvement.

The two Trump supporters would not share their names, but the older protester mockingly told the Gazette’s photographer that they were “Renee Good” and the captured Venezuelan President “Nikolás Meduro.” The younger counter protestor said he was “Landon C.”

The local ICE Out organizers said the event was designed to grieve Good’s death, as well as the deaths of others who have been killed while in ICE detention. 

“ICE is escalating its cruel deployments into our communities,” the groups said. “This recent killing of Ms. Good is not an isolated incident, but the devastating and predictable result of ICE’s lawless operations and President Trump’s abuse of power, leading to unchecked violence. ICE and CBP are endangering our communities. Our neighbors fear for their lives and livelihoods, and our communities are less safe. We will not stand for it.”

They said they will meet ICE’s violence with “steadfast nonviolence and lawful protest,” noting that a core principle behind all ICE Out For Good events is a commitment to peaceful, nonviolent action, and no civil disobedience.  

Reporting from the Associated Press was used in this article.