Death by ICE in New America
"Callous disregard for human life" doesn't even begin to describe it.
Since her murder at the hands of ICE last week, decent people in the United States have been grieving the loss of Renee Nicole Good. Decent people have not been demonizing her or spreading lies about her or or blaming her for her own death. Decent people have been mourning her loss as if they knew her because, in a sense, they have known her. She was a mom who kept stuffed animals in her car to keep her kiddo occupied. She was a woman trying to make a life with her family in a city that was relatively new to her. She was relatable.
One thing that distinguished Good’s treatment by ICE from many others who have been the targets of ICE agents’ violence is that Good’s murder was captured on video from multiple angles. ICE has been as opaque and secretive in their statistics as they have been public and proud in their cruelty. As a result, there isn’t reliable comprehensive reporting on the actual number of deaths caused by ICE’s actions, either as a direct result of their activity in the streets or while the targets of their actions are in custody.
There have been other ICE shootings, there have been ICE-provoked altercations with protesters, there have been multiple injuries and deaths in custody. What little reporting there is always seems to hold ICE 100% blameless for any injury or death. So it’s no surprise that the instantaneous response by Kristi Noem was to blame Good’s death on Good. (Victim blaming is one of the only things ICE is good at.)
With a budget of $11+ billion this year and repeated solemn vows of complete transparency, wouldn’t you think that we’d have some accounting of these incidents?
Renee Nicole Good’s death has spurred on anti-ICE activism, and an outgrowth of that activism is the drawing of attention to the systemic violence that ICE has unleashed on both immigrants and citizens. One physical manifestation of that activism is a grass roots memorial in New York City.
New York’s East Village has a long-standing reputation for being on the cutting edge. Music, art, writing, theatre, politics, activism — many people who are well known in each of those disciplines can point back to their East Village roots. So it’s no surprise that a memorial like the one pictured below would spring up in front of St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery.
The nation has been mourning the loss of Renee Nicole Good, and this makeshift memorial honors her, of course. But it adds a much needed dimension to the discussion of her death at the hands of ICE.
In that photograph, each one of those photos and signs is a memorial to someone else who has died either as the direct result of ICE’s actions or while in ICE custody. Many of those victims of ICE are black and brown people — folks who often get overlooked by our media, folks whose interactions with ICE didn’t take place in the eye of the storm they way that Good’s shooting did.
Spending a few minutes in front of this memorial cannot help but evoke a collapsing feeling in one’s chest, in much the same way those makeshift post-9/11 memorials that lined the streets of lower Manhattan did.
We can hope that the awareness displayed in that East Village memorial is being echoed and replicated across the country.
We cannot forget that there have already been shootings of unarmed civilians by ICE agents and by Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents since the killing of Renee Nicole Good. A federal judge has ordered ICE agents not to take retaliatory actions against peaceful protesters, but we’ve seen how little regard for the law some of these agents have demonstrated. A judge’s order may not be enough to deter them once the adrenaline and testosterone get flowing.
In a functioning democracy, even a flawed but functioning democracy, we could expect that eventually justice will be done and those in law enforcement or government who abuse their authority and engage in criminal behavior will be held accountable in our justice system. It took a very long time and a lot of pressure before Derek Chauvin and his fellow officers finally faced punishment for killing George Floyd. But given today’s political environment that protects supporters of the regime and punishes detractors, no matter the circumstances or the evidence, the possibility of Jonathan Ross facing justice seems remote.
The systemic lack of self-control and absence of remorse makes it more important for citizens to record as much ICE activity on video as possible. We may not be able to force our justice system to function properly and in a timely manner, but we can do our best to capture the truth of these interactions on camera.
The more this bloodthirsty president and his eager accomplices flex their muscles and abuse their power, the larger the protests have become. It’s likely that pushback will continue to happen, especially as the public increases their awareness of how systemic and widespread the violence against immigrants and peaceful protesters has become. The killing of Renee Nicole Good has become a flashpoint that is raising both awareness and willingness to stand up for what is right.
While spending time at the East Village memorial, people spontaneously but quietly share their outrage with each other, in some attempt to make sense of it all. As I was about to leave, a woman I had chatted briefly with turned to walk away and ended our conversation with one truism. She gestured toward the signs and photographs, and said, “All this is because they thought they’d get cheaper eggs.”