Hundreds converge on downtown Long Beach after fatal immigration shooting in Minneapolis

Hundreds of people gathered at the Civic Center in downtown Long Beach on Thursday evening, Jan. 8, to mourn and show solidarity for Renee Nicole Good, the 37-year-old woman who was fatally shot by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis earlier this week.

Several demonstrations have occurred nationwide, including in Los Angeles, since Good’s death on Wednesday — with dozens more planned for this weekend across Southern California. In Long Beach, protestors held a vigil for Good, and eventually marched along the streets of downtown. Throughout the evening, the crowd grew to about 500 protesters on the steps of the Civic Center along Ocean Boulevard.

People held up signs that read “Justice for Renee Nicole Good,” “Stop ICE Terror Now” and “Melt ICE” and yelled chants such as “ICE kills with no shame,” “No justice, no peace” and “Say it once, say it twice. We will not put up with ICE.” As cars drove by, many honked in support of the protestors.

“People like Renee are testament to the love and commitment they had to their communities,” said Diego Mayen, rapid response organizer with Órale. “We must reject these atrocities and push back as much as possible.”

Good was killed on Wednesday after three Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers surrounded her Honda Pilot SUV on a snowy street a few blocks from her home. Video taken by bystanders show an officer approaching the SUV, stopped across the middle of the road, demanding the driver open the door and grabbing the handle.

The vehicle begins to pull forward and a different ICE officer standing in front of it pulls his weapon and immediately fires at least two shots at close range, jumping back as the vehicle moves toward him.

Protesters gather on Ocean Boulevard near Long Beach City Hall...

Protesters gather on Ocean Boulevard near Long Beach City Hall on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in the wake of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent-involved shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)

Kay Donato of Long Beach is among the protesters near Long Beach City Hall on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in a show of solidarity for Renee Nicole Good who was allegedly fatally shot by an ICE officer in Minneapolis. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)

A mourner burns a candle near Long Beach City Hall on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in a show of solidarity for Renee Nicole Good who was allegedly fatally shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis on Wednesday. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)

Mourners hold candles near Long Beach City Hall on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in a show of solidarity for Renee Nicole Good who was allegedly fatally shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis on Wednesday. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)

Protesters gather near Long Beach City Hall on Thursday evening, Jan. 8, 2026, in the wake of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent-involved shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)

Julie Cucileo of Long Beach joins protesters near Long Beach City Hall on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in a show of solidarity for Renee Nicole Good who was allegedly fatally shot by an ICE officer in Minneapolis. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)

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The fatal shooting inflamed tensions that have been simmering for months as local communities nationwide have rankled at the Trump administration’s increased immigration enforcement — but it also crystallized the hyper-partisan lens through which many people, particularly federal officials, view such incidents.

The Trump administration has repeatedly defended the operations, saying they are necessary to make the nation safe, characterizing the people ICE arrests as dangerous criminals. But immigration advocates and officials, including those across Los Angeles County, have decried such characterizations, saying ICE is detaining hard-working members of the community — and, in some cases, U.S. citizens.

To accommodate the increased immigration operations, the Department of Homeland Security has gone on a hiring blitz. The agency’s hiring campaign, DHS announced last week, has more than doubled the number of immigration officers and agents from 10,000 to 22,000.

But the hiring spree has also raised questions about the qualifications and ability of immigration agents to safely carry out their operations.

Wednesday’s fatal shooting, after all, was not the first time federal immigration agents have fired on people — whether on or off duty. Most recently, an off-duty ICE officer killed a man, whom activists identified as Keith Porter Jr., in Northridge on New Year’s Eve. Los Angeles police responded to an apartment complex, 17701 Roscoe Blvd., after reports of someone firing shots into the air. The off-duty ICE officer, who also lived at the complex, responded and fatally shot Porter.

More germane to Good’s death was an incident that took place on Thursday, when federal immigration officers shot and wounded two people in a vehicle outside a hospital in Portland, Oregon.

But administration officials, including DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, have pushed back against criticism over how ICE operates — saying instead that agents are under the constant threat of being attacked.

Noem, in fact, said this week that the officer who shot Good did so in self-defense because she was trying to hit him with her car — characterizing it as an “act of domestic terrorism.”

“This domestic act of terrorism to use your vehicle to try to kill law enforcement officers is going to stop,” Noem said during a Wednesday press conference, “and I’m asking the DOJ to prosecute it as domestic terrorism — because it’s clear that it’s being coordinated.”

There’s no evidence, however, of a coordinated effort to attack ICE officers with moving vehicles, and Minnesota officials have disputed Noem’s description of the incident. Instead, those officials have said, Good was simply trying to flee. And video of the incident appears to show to Honda attempting to turn away from the ICE agents.

“It is shameful that Kristi Noem is not only defending the ICE agent who murdered this woman in Minneapolis, but is praising them,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn, whose district includes Long Beach, said in a statement. “This gives other ICE agents the license to shoot and kill more people in our streets. We need ICE to get out of every American city.”

Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson also criticized ICE.

“These atrocities must not be normalized and her death should never be dismissed as collateral damage,” Richardson said in a statement on social media. “In Long Beach, we’ve seen how these federal enforcement tactics escalate fear and put lives at risk. They do not make our cities safer.”

Those who attended Thursday’s protest in Long Beach, meanwhile, demanded that federal immigration officers be held accountable for their actions and for ICE to get out of Long Beach.

Several protestors in the crowd said that they were moved to show up to the demonstration on Thursday because of what they saw happen in Minneapolis and the ongoing increased federal immigration enforcement in Long Beach and across the country.

Vicky Tucker, a 12-year Long Beach resident who held a candle to honor Good, said she has seen how people are affected by the fear that federal agents will take family members or people working their jobs – such as car washes being raided by ICE down the street from where immigrants live.

“I’m here in support,” Tucker said. “I also think that local governments should set up to protect all groups in the city.”

Local organizations have also demanded more from the city government. While the City Council has voted to strengthen the Long Beach Values Act and increase funding to provide local immigrant communities with financial support, local organizations and residents continue to demand more from their representatives.

“What we’re seeing happen across the country isn’t unique; it’s happening here in Long Beach too,” said James Suazo, executive director of Long Beach Forward. “There’s been so many Long Beach community members who have been kidnapped by ICE already. We’ve taken some great first steps in making Long Beach a sanctuary city with the Values Act but we want to see our city, our leaders and our police department, step up more and prevent this violence that’s happening in the community.”

Protestors held a moment of silence for Good, as well as others who have been killed or affected by increased federal immigration enforcement. Representatives from local organizations – such as Órale, Stop ICE Net, and SoCal Uprising – gave speeches encouraging the crowd protect their communities, demanding that ICE be abolished and urging people to continue exercising their rights to observe immigration enforcement activity.

After the vigil and demonstration, protestors marched down Ocean Boulevard toward the Hyatt Hotel along Pine Avenue at around 8:30 p.m. As they made their way down the hill, Long Beach Police Department vehicles and officers were lined up at Seaside Way and blocked the road, and warned protestors to head back. They did so.

In the sea of people marching was Long Beach resident Diego Sanson. He said that everything that has been happening in Long Beach and across the nation has been horrible, motivating him to be part of the Thursday demonstration.

“We’re tired of this, of everything,” he said, “of people being oppressed, of people being deported for no reason, no legal reason. There’s no justice.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Hundreds converge on downtown Long Beach after fatal immigration shooting in Minneapolis – Press Telegram

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