Renee Good, an award-winning poet, wife and mother was shot three times at point-blank range by ICE. Good’s wife, Rebecca, said the couple had stopped to support their neighbors in the midst of an ICE sweep of Minneapolis. “We had whistles. They had guns,” she said.
Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse caring for veterans in Minneapolis, was thrown to the ground and shot 10 times while peacefully protesting in the wake of Good’s murder. Patients and loved ones have come forward to speak about his compassion and his desire to make a difference in this world.
Neighbors and community members watched helplessly as Good and Pretti were murdered by brute, militaristic tactics in broad daylight on American streets by Federal Agents.
Just last week, United States Attorney Leah Foley claimed that states that prohibit cooperation by local and state police in order to protect immigrants result in “chaos in the streets.” There has been no acknowledgement of the truth by the current administration, and no accountability, while the reality is that they are the ones bringing chaos to once-safe streets.
These completely avoidable tragedies have become an inflection point in the ongoing invasion of cities and towns across America by ICE agents. The Trump administration’s dangerously flawed policies have stripped individuals of their constitutional rights, caused serious bodily harm, and left 32 individuals in ICE detention dead in 2025. Now, Renee Good and Alex Pretti are dead.
Minneapolis is half a country away, but this could easily have been Massachusetts.
Massachusetts has been a target of the Trump administration due to our state’s reputation for protecting immigrant rights. Immigration detentions in our state have increased 336% in 2025, with 80% of people detained having no criminal history.
Not only are our neighborhoods being affected, but the state’s economy is being hit hard with individuals scared to show up for work. Our public health is also at risk, with people afraid to seek routine and emergency medical care. School attendance has also significantly dropped, with about 2,500 Framingham Public School students not showing up for school the day after a rumor of ICE presence circulated.
The Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) Coalition has repeatedly called on federal authorities to remove ICE agents from our neighborhoods and joined forces with our partners at the Brazilian Workers Center, the ACLU of Massachusetts, the SEIU, the Massachusetts Teachers Association, and the Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action to create the Protecting Massachusetts Communities (PMC) Coalition this past fall.
The PMC Coalition includes advocates, community groups, businesses, faith leaders, and healthcare providers. It became clear that to fight President Trump’s anti-immigrant regime, we had to join forces to ensure Massachusetts leaders take proper steps to do everything they can to keep all Massachusetts residents safe.
With the federal government constantly moving the legal goalposts and cherry picking which laws they enforce, the PMC coalition has to stay nimble in our advocacy, fighting for three key reforms.
First and foremost, we must prohibit law enforcement from assisting ICE in making civil immigration arrests and from asking members of the public about their immigration status. The Trump administration set a quota of 3,000 ICE arrests every day. To do this, they need “force multipliers,” aka local police, to assist.
That must not happen in Massachusetts. Our police cannot become part of a paramilitary force operating outside of American norms and laws. And we need our entire communities to trust law enforcement. We know that when people are afraid to go to the police or emergency services for help, everyone is less safe.
Second, we have to ensure local police do not turn into ICE agents by banning 287(g) contracts. Deputizing local law enforcement with federal powers is a misuse of state resources and an abuse of power. Currently, no Massachusetts police force has joined the program; however, the Department of Homeland Security is enticing municipalities by paying local law enforcement’s salaries, benefits, overtime and quarterly bonuses for anyone deputized.
Lastly, Massachusetts must give immigrants a fighting chance by permanently funding legal help for those in deportation proceedings. These individuals are not guaranteed representation in civil deportation hearings, and currently, 55% of individuals who appear in court in Massachusetts do not have a lawyer to assist in navigating the extremely complicated immigration system.
What we know is that when immigrants have representation, they are five times more likely to win their cases. We need to give them a chance at fairness.
We are working tirelessly to keep our immigrant neighbors safe and to ensure that local law enforcement will not cooperate with ICE, directly or indirectly. ICE has gone too far and innocent lives have been lost. Make your voice heard, contact your state legislator, and stand up against an administration that continues to justify the murder of Renee Good, Alex Pretti, and all our neighbors who have been killed, hurt, or forced to live in fear. Enough is enough.
Elizabeth Sweet is the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) Coalition.