PORTLAND — Hundreds of people gathered around Maine on Saturday to join in a national tribute to a Minneapolis woman who was killed this week by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and to protest the federal agency’s actions.
Renee Good was shot and killed as she drove through the scene of an ICE operation in her home city Wednesday. Federal officials have said that the officer who killed Good acted in self-defense as she attempted to run him over, while local leaders in Minnesota have disputed that account and called for greater scrutiny of immigration enforcement activities.
“When this whole thing happened, the entire state was like, ‘We need to do something,'” said Debra Bellare, a member of the steering committee for Indivisible Greater Portland, a progressive group that sponsored Saturday’s protest at Monument Square in Portland. Bellare said she and others felt compelled to condemn what happened.
Anti-ICE protests were scheduled in towns and cities nationwide this weekend, including in other locations in Maine, such as Augusta, Bangor and Bath. Organizers said the Minnesota incident is the latest example of violence and abuse carried out by federal immigration authorities.
In addition to Good’s killing, a Border Patrol agent’s shooting of a married couple in Portland, Oregon, on Thursday has also prompted public outcry.
In Monument Square, protesters lined both sides of Congress Street holding signs that read, “RESIST” and “Abolish ICE.” The event, which coincided with a weekly Saturday morning protest against Trump administration actions in Monument Square, also followed a Thursday rally in response to Good’s death.
Angus Ferguson, an organizer of the weekly protests, said Good’s death made him think about his 1-year-old granddaughter who has lived most of her life under the Trump administration.
“The wreckage that’s been caused by the Trump administration will take a long, long time to repair,” said Ferguson, 78. “I’m concerned about her future and the future of the country.”
Ferguson said the protests, including Saturday’s, give people an opportunity to talk to each other about what’s happening in the country. “I think the killing of Renee Good will touch a lot of people who’ve been staying silent or (are inclined to support) Trump,” he said.
Lindsay Livingston, 46, said she has come to protests before and was motivated in particular on Saturday because of Good’s killing.
“I think this was a real moment to show that most people won’t stand for this,” said Livingston, of Brunswick. “It’s a lot easier to stay silent, to stay home on a Saturday and not pay attention if it’s not touching you. It’s not touching me personally right now, but it’s too much.”
A teacher, Livingston said she’s had students who have been impacted by ICE actions and forced to leave the country. “When I say it hasn’t affected me personally, it’s not my personal family, but it’s absolutely my network,” she said. “And even if it wasn’t, I don’t want to be part of a country that treats people this way.”
In Augusta, about 250 people gathered at the Western Avenue rotary to protest ICE, while between 300 and 400 protesters turned out on the Sagadahoc Bridge in Bath.
“They are all angry at the brutal murder of Renee Nicole Good, and this is not the kind of security that we are looking for,” said Lucy Hull, steering committee member for Indivisible Sagadahoc. Indivisible was one of the leading organizers of protests nationwide.
Hull said Americans need to feel safe from gun violence and police brutality and need to be economically secure. None of those things are happening under the current administration, she said.
“I am distressed that it took the murder of a white woman for us to all come out and for this degree of outrage because Black people and immigrants are being attacked all the time,” Hull said.
Christian Leger, another steering committee member for Indivisible Sagadahoc, also said Good’s murder motivated many people to come out and protest on the bridge Saturday.
“Each rally that we hold and each march that is happening is just one more step towards more awareness at the fragility of our democracy and the rule of law, which is not respected in our country,” Leger said.
Staff Photographer Anna Chadwick and Staff Writer Paul Bagnall contributed to this report.
