The brothers of Renee Good, the Minneapolis woman killed by an immigration officer last month, spoke on Capitol Hill Tuesday, becoming emotional and telling lawmakers that the family hoped in vain that her death could spark change.
Luke and Brent Ganger were the first speakers at a forum held by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut Democrat, and Rep. Robert Garcia, California Democrat, on the tactics used by the Department of Homeland Security in their immigration enforcement.
“The deep distress our family feels because of Renee’s loss in such a violent and unnecessary way is complicated by feelings of disbelief, distress and desperation for change,” Luke Ganger said. “In the last few weeks our family took some consolation thinking that perhaps Renee’s death could bring about change in our country.”
“And it has not,” he said.
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Good, 37, was blocking a road with her car last month when she was shot multiple times and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer during an encounter.
Federal officials said Good and others were obstructing an ICE operation before the shooting. DHS said the officer was acting in self-defense because Good was trying to run him over.
SEE ALSO: House Democrats’ report accuses Trump officials of lies, covering up ICE misconduct
“The completely surreal scenes taking place on the streets of Minneapolis are beyond explanation,” Luke Ganger said. “This is not just a bad day or a rough week or isolated incidents. These encounters with federal agents are changing the community and changing many lives, including ours, forever.”
Brent Ganger read parts of his sister’s eulogy, talking about what a good sister and mother she was.
“She believed in second chances. She believed tomorrow can be better than today,” he said. “When things were hard, Renee looked for the light.”
Mr. Garcia said they convened the event because DHS, ICE and other agencies “are completely out of control and because Congress has a responsibility to step in when constitutional rights are being violated.”
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He pointed to the report released earlier by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, for which he is the ranking member, that blamed “extreme policies, violent tactics, and a culture of impunity” for the killing of protesters Good and Alex Pretti, 37, who was shot less than a month after Good, during confrontations with ICE agents.
The report also accused the administration of lying about the victims, and covering up ICE misconduct.
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Mr. Blumenthal called the forum “extraordinary and unprecedented, but so is the inhumanity and brutality that we’ve seen from a government agency.”
He said Good and Pretti were there in spirit, instead of in person, because “they were murdered by their own government.”
“They were killed in cold blood,” he said.
He called for “accountability and justice” and a “complete overhaul” of DHS, including the use of body cameras and identification; barring officers from wearing face coverings; training and independent investigations into incidents.
Other speakers included the attorney representing Good’s family as they sue ICE, and other individuals who have had incidents with immigration officers, such as Marimar Martinez, who was shot five times by Customs and Border Patrol Agents in Chicago, and Martin Daniel Rascon of California, who was stopped by agents who fired on the car multiple times.
