Anti-ICE protests ramp up in Richmond at tail end of Trump administration’s first year
Heciel Nieves Bonilla, News Editor
Multiple demonstrations took place throughout Richmond throughout the weekend in response to the presence and actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the region and around the country, following the killing of a Minneapolis resident by an ICE agent last week.
On the morning of Jan. 7, ICE officer Jonathan Ross shot Renee Nicole Good in her vehicle as she was pulling away from multiple officers following a verbal confrontation, according to the Minnesota Reformer. That evening, the Richmond chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation organized a demonstration at Monroe Park.
Attendees carried signs reading “ICE OUT OF OUR COMMUNITIES” and speakers spoke broadly against violence by federal agencies, including shootings beyond Good’s. Her killing was the 9th ICE shooting since September of last year, according to the New York Times.
Most recently, an off-duty ICE officer shot and killed Los Angeles resident Keith Porter according to the LA Times. The day after Good’s shooting death, two Portland residents were shot by federal agents on Jan. 8, according to a City of Portland press release.
As of Tuesday, a majority of U.S. voters found the Good shooting to be unjustified, per a Quinnipiac University poll.
“This murder is part of a campaign designed to sow terror and pursue a whole white supremacist agenda to expel huge numbers of people from this country,” said PSL member Reed Baldwin in a speech. “Last September, Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez was also shot and killed by an ICE agent in Chicago. Murders like these are an inevitable part of the massive crackdown by the Trump administration.”
Friday was the first of multiple “ICE OUT OF VIRGINIA” protests in Richmond and throughout the country organized by 50501, the movement behind the massive, regular No Kings protests held since Trump re-took office.
The largest recent Richmond demonstration occurred on Saturday at Maggie L. Walker Memorial Plaza. It was organized by PSL, along with 50501, RVA Indivisible, Richmond Defensa and Punks4Liberation.
Hundreds of Richmonders heard speakers on the details of Good’s death, the impact of ICE raids locally and efforts to involve residents in self-defense against potential targeting by ICE and other officials.
The speeches were separated by chants including “No justice, no peace, we want ICE off our streets,” “¡Aqui estamos y no nos vamos / We are here and we’re not leaving!” and “¡Chinga la migra! / F**k ICE!”
The latter was twice led by Violeta Vega, an organizer with Richmond Defensa — and PSL — who also invited demonstrators to attend the upcoming No Kings protest on Jan. 20 during her speech.
“History shows us that we have the right to call wrong wrong, and the right to fight back,” Vega said.
The protests in Richmond over the weekend added to the over 1,000 events held over the weekend, according to Indivisible, which is also planning a candlelight vigil to “wage peace at home” on Martin Luther King, Jr. day at the Virginia War Memorial.
On Jan. 9, criminal prosecutors in the DOJ’s civil rights division told CBS News they would not investigate the Good shooting, despite typically doing so after a fatal shooting by a federal officer. On Monday, many of those prosecutors resigned from their posts, as DOJ sources said the federal investigation is being treated as an assault on Ross, according to CBS News.
