Bloomington was the site of one of more than 1,000 demonstrations planned across the country over the weekend to protest Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the wake of the fatal shooting of Renee Good in Minnesota on Wednesday.
Good was shot to death by ICE agent Jonathan E. Ross, a Peoria Richwoods graduate, as she appeared to be trying to drive away from ICE officers.
The incident has become the latest flashpoint in the national debate about the Trump administration’s ramped-up immigration enforcement in U.S. cities, including Minneapolis, Portland and Chicago.
Protesters gathered along Veterans Parkway in Bloomington on Sunday holding signs that read “End Violence,” “No Police State” and "Justice for Renee Good.”
Olenka Moss of Bloomington, who was holding an “Abolish Ice” sign, said she wants to see Ross arrested for the shooting and greater accountability for ICE.
“[We want] accountability from those who are entrusted to advocate for us, to protect us, accountability from those who we put into power, accountability from everybody, from the state level to the national level,” Moss said.
The Trump administration has defended the ICE agent’s actions and said the officer has immunity from prosecution.
Katie Olsson of Bloomington said she does not believe Ross will face any consequences for the shooting. She doesn’t buy the administration’s claim that Ross acted in self-defense.
“We’ve all saw the video. She was turning away, slowly,” Olsson said. “One officer was screaming at her to get out of the car. I would not get out of my car if I saw a masked man with a gun pointed toward me.”
Olsson said she fears the federal government is going to try to cover up any unfavorable evidence, as the FBI has blocked local police from investigating the shootings in Minneapolis and Portland, where two people were shot during a traffic stop by a Border Patrol agent on Saturday.
Olsson said she supports immigration enforcement but “not like this.”
William Rau of Bloomington said he believes the killing of Renee Good will embolden immigration officers even more, and that it will lead to more violence.
“What’s the message to the other agents and ICE? Go out and kill a protester,” Rau said.
Rau said he worked on voter registration efforts in Georgia and Birmingham, Alabama in the 1960s, where he said he was arrested and beaten by an officer. He said this current moment is not as violent as that time in American history, but he fears it’s getting closer.
Rau said he wants to see those opposed to ICE’s actions engage in nonviolent disobedience, similar to what demonstrators did during the Civil Rights Movement, to help change public sentiment.
“Unfortunately, [Rev. Dr. Martin Luther] King isn’t around anymore, so we are going to have to find other leaders to do it,” Rau said. “Ideally, it would come from the faith community.”
