A Nation Under Threat of Unraveling Under Unchecked Authority - ICE's Fatal Shooting of Renee Good
On January 7, in south Minneapolis amidst an immigration raid on a snowy street near East 34th Street and Portland Avenue, ICE agent Jonathan Ross murdered Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old American poet and mother of three. Officials insist she "weaponized" her SUV in self-defense, but eyewitness videos and testimonies revealed the contrary, a stationary vehicle surrounded and inching away, with no evident threat justifying the barrage of close-range gunshots.
The nation is shocked by this execution-style murder. It isn't just an overreach, it's the harsh revelation of a system where federal might is increasingly rogue and trampling the rule of law, eroding the fragile social order that once promised safety and freedom to all. An unarmed citizen, slaughtered without warning or recourse, while her killer walks free and absolved by President Trump's words.
The administration's response was a barrage of smears: Vice President JD Vance dubs her a "deranged leftist" inviting her fate, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem accuses her of "harboring" threats, all while baselessly painting her as a “domestic terrorist” to sanitize state violence. Such tactics don't defend order; they dismantle it. In the eyes of American citizens, these actions normalize a world where guarantees of due process are no more and every encounter with authority risks becoming a death sentence.
We are on a perilous trajectory of unchecked executive power where constitutional freedoms, specifically dissent, hang by a thread. The FBI's takeover of the probe, deliberately sidelining Minnesota's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, is a calculated move to block state investigators from exposing potential findings of excessive force, police brutality, or federal overreach, crushing local authority and the vital safeguards designed to curb authoritarian abuses. Governor Tim Walz's plea for a transparent state probe falls on deaf ears, as federal stonewalling perpetuates a cycle of impunity. FBI's takeover of the probe.
Video evidence lays bare the horror: masked ICE officers encircling common civilians, withholding aid from Renee Nicole Good for a critical quarter-hour, valuing dominance over human life. It begs the question that if this is the barbarity that unfolds in broad daylight, what might be the extent of abuse occurring in detention facilities, remote operations, or deportation proceedings where unchecked agents may operate as rogue enforcers?
This was not an isolated mistake, but rather a warning of escalating federal tactics predicting a precarious future for America. All the while, Congress is sitting idle as ICE's budget and powers expand under this administration, showing how the checks and balances that used to protect us are falling apart. There's worry from both political sides, but no one's stepping up yet. War Powers oversight exists to ensure that the President’s use of military force is justified, limited, and subject to congressional review. That same oversight principle must apply at home. As policing becomes increasingly militarized, Congress must step in to demand transparency, set boundaries, and prevent the unchecked use of force against civilians.
Communities of color and immigrants bear the brunt due to racial profiling, but the threat looms universal, fueling unrest in Minneapolis streets now alive with protests and vigils, a microcosm of a nation where safety seems illusory and freedom conditional as of 2026.
Emgage Action demands Congress awaken, initiate probes into ICE's lethal protocols, compel the release of raw footage, full congressional disclosures, and swift prosecution of Ross. Failure invites not just more bloodshed, but the collapse of the very principles binding our society.
In Summary, Existing Legal Protections Congress Is Obligated to Enforce:
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Prohibits unreasonable seizures and excessive use of force by government agents. Deadly force is lawful only when an immediate threat exists — a standard contradicted by available video evidence.
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Guarantees that no person may be deprived of life without due process of law. Summary killings by federal agents outside of imminent threat violate this core constitutional protection.
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18 U.S.C. § 242 (Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law)
Makes it a federal crime for any government official to willfully deprive a person of constitutional rights, including through excessive or deadly force.
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18 U.S.C. § 241 (Conspiracy Against Rights)
Prohibits coordinated actions by officials to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate individuals in the exercise of their constitutional rights.
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Require necessity, proportionality, and immediate threat before lethal force may be used. Withholding medical aid after a shooting further violates federal law enforcement protocols.
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Congressional Oversight Authority (Article I)
Grants Congress the power to investigate executive agencies, compel testimony and evidence, condition funding, and impose statutory limits on federal enforcement powers.
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War Powers Oversight Principle (by analogy)
The same logic Congress uses to restrain unilateral military force abroad — justification, limits, transparency, and accountability — must apply when federal force is deployed against civilians at home.
Iman Awad
Emgage Action National Director Policy & Advocacy