Cold temperatures and scattered showers did not deter Tucsonans from gathering Thursday night at El Tiradito for a vigil honoring Renee Nicole Good, a Minneapolis woman who died after being shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer during a raid in her city.

Wednesday morning, federal agents in Minneapolis began a raid south of the city where Good lived. Acting as a legal observer, Good had parked her car perpendicular in the right lane of a one-way residential street when she encountered a group of ICE agents.

As she attempted to move her vehicle, an ICE agent ordered Good to exit the car and reached for the door handle while another agent, later identified as Jonathan Ross, positioned himself in front of her vehicle. Video and eyewitness accounts indicate that as her car turned, Ross drew his weapon and fired three shots, killing Good.

According to The Trace, a journalism group specializing in gun violence reporting, immigration officials have fired shots at civilians at least 16 times during President Donald Trump’s second term in office, resulting in multiple deaths and injuries, including two people shot by Customs and Border Protection agents in Portland hours before Thursday’s vigil.

Those 16 shooting incidents by federal immigration agents have resulted in four deaths, including Good’s, and at least seven injuries.

With instances of shots fired, arms brandished and the use of “less-lethal” weapons on civilians, communities across the country, including Tucson, have protested ICE’s presence, fearing officials feel empowered to use force when it is unnecessary.

A group of about 100 people gathered Thursday evening at El Tiradito to pay their respects to Good. The shrine is where the activist group Derechos Humanos holds a Día de los Muertos procession honoring migrants who have died crossing the border and has held vigils since 1988.

As attendees lit candles, a few sang “This Little Light of Mine,” the flames illuminating signs with Good’s picture and the words “Justice for Renee Nicole Good.”

“We come in moments like this, in horrific moments, where our policies impact all of us,” said Isabel Garcia, founder and co-chair of Derechos Humanos. “Just as we have been saying for so many years that all violations against migrants are violations against us.”

The vigil created an opportunity for community members to gather in grief and solidarity, with speakers calling on attendees to get involved in response to recent events.

“I feel like most people are ready to just stay home and bundle up, but it takes a lot to come out here,” said one attendee, who asked to remain anonymous. “How are we going to sit at home and just be sad when we could all be together?”

As the crowd listened, organizers and longtime advocates also spoke about their ongoing work in the community.

“We are not going to back down,” Maria Eugenia Carrasco said, addressing the crowd. Carrasco has been involved with Derechos Humanos for 23 years and oversees hotline calls reporting ICE activity in the Tucson area.

She spoke about the impact of the work, saying she received 60 calls on Dec. 5, the day ICE raided several Taco Giro locations in southern Arizona, and was actively taking calls at the vigil.

Once a report is made to the hotline, trained community members head to the scene to legally observe, a practice protected by the First Amendment right to observe government activity.

“We are going to get more and more organized, and we are going to be on the street,” Carrasco said. “We're going to do it, and we're going to do it for our brothers and sisters, for everybody who needs our help.”

Prayers were offered by several speakers, while others encouraged community members to find motivation for change within the tragedy.

“I just want to remind everyone here today, do not go numb,” an attendee said to the crowd. “We all have feelings, everyone here, and so did Renee, and she would not want us to go numb. That is resistance.”

The concerns expressed at the vigil reflect a broader pattern of deaths and injuries linked to immigration enforcement across the country.

Last year, 32 people died in ICE custody, the most since 2005, including two detainees held in facilities in Florence and Eloy. As of Jan. 11, two individuals have died in ICE custody in 2026.

There have also been reports of injuries and deaths associated with ICE activity outside of detention.

In California, farmworker Jaime Alanis was fatally injured after falling from a ladder during an immigration raid at his workplace in August.

That same month, California day laborer Roberto Carlos Montoya Valdez was fatally struck by a car while fleeing an immigration raid at a Home Depot.

In October, Phoenix resident Jose Garcia-Sorto was shot and injured by ICE as he attempted to pull away from agents approaching his vehicle.

At the same time, federal lawmakers have approved a major expansion of immigration enforcement.

The passage of July’s federal spending bill will provide ICE and Border Patrol with $170 billion in additional funding through September 2029, with plans to double personnel this year.

The vigil ended with attendees chanting Good’s name three times and responding with “¡presente!,” the Spanish word for “present,” a call-and-response tradition signifying her spiritual presence at the vigil.

Topacio “Topaz” Servellon is a reporter with Tucson Spotlight. Contact them at topacioserve@gmail.com.

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