Carrying candles and handmade signs, about 250 people crowded the corner of Lafayette and Maple streets Saturday afternoon for an ICE Out rally and vigil following the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis mother by a U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement agent last week.
“We need to bring more attention to ICE and their tactics and cruelty, which have spilled over into the killing of a person just trying to protect her neighborhood,” said Peggy Hogarty of Marblehead, referring to 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good, a Minneapolis mother of three and U.S. citizen.
Mary Chalifour said she came to the rally to honor Good.
“I’m here because a beautiful woman, taking her 6-year-old to school, was killed,” she said. “Her last words (to ICE agents) were, ‘I’m not mad at you.’ She had stuffies in her car. I know so many people who have stuffies in their cars.”
Joanneke Brentjens, an attorney from Marblehead, said she has watched the video of the Minneapolis incident at least 40 times.
“I’m really trying hard to see the other side (that the ICE officer shot in defense), but it’s not substantiated,” she said. “I’m also angry about the Trump administration’s rush to judgment and not allowing the state to investigate the shooting.”
The FBI has not allowed local law enforcement to investigate the case.
Barbara Roy held a sign that read, “Believe your eyes, not their lies.”
“I’ve never protested before in my life,” Roy said. “Now I’m going to as many as I can. This has to stop.”
Justin Stransky, 28, criticized President Trump.
“I’ve been sick of him for 10 years,” he said. “I just want people to stop dying and for the economy to be better.”
Ten-year-old Ela Samant of Marblehead attended the rally with her family, including her mother, Lainey Titus Samant.
“I’m angry about what’s happening. It’s wrong; it’s infuriating,” Titus Samant said. “People are getting fed up.”
Veteran James Caress, holding a lit candle, stood with his wife, Gail, and carried a sign that read, “I didn’t serve to defend cruelty and murder.”
At 4:30 p.m., the group gathered in a circle for a moment of silence in honor of Good. Someone read a poem just written in Good’s honor by Amanda Gorman. The crowd then sang “We Shall Overcome.”
People gather at the corner of Lafayette and Maple streets every Saturday afternoon to protest and remember those affected by immigration enforcement.
