Family of US citizen killed by ICE agent sues Trump administration

The family of Renee Nicole Good, a US citizen killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent earlier this year, has filed a major lawsuit against the Donald Trump administration.

The law firm Romanucci & Blandin said Thursday (local time) that it filed the suit in federal court in Minnesota on behalf of Renee's same-sex spouse, Becca Good, their children, and Renee's brother Brent Ganger, naming the US federal government as the defendant.

The family also filed separate lawsuits against ICE agent Jonathan Ross, who fired the fatal shots, as well as other federal agents and administration officials — including White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, widely credited with designing the administration's immigration policy; former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem; and White House border czar Thomas Homan.

The plaintiffs are seeking compensatory and punitive damages for Renee's wrongful death and the family's loss. They also alleged an unconstitutional conspiracy in which federal agents and government officials racially targeted Somali and Hispanic residents for surveillance and violently threatened and silenced citizens who protested.

The family also rebuffed the federal government's claim, made after Renee's death, that she had committed an act of terrorism against ICE agents and that the agents had acted in self-defense. "I strongly demand accountability, with the resolve to do what is right for my sister, her children and our country," Brent Ganger said. "What happened on Jan. 7 — and what has happened to so many people over the past year — is not what America stands for."

Becca, Renee's spouse, said, "What happened to us should never happen to any family," adding that "true accountability is the only way to ensure that."

Renee Good was shot and killed on Jan. 7 while sitting in a vehicle during a confrontation with ICE agents conducting an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Department of Homeland Security said at the time that she had ignored agents' orders to exit the vehicle and identify herself, and had attempted to ram an agent with her vehicle — an act the department characterized as terrorism against ICE.

However, as it emerged that Renee was a US citizen with no connection to undocumented immigration enforcement, and as security camera footage from the scene spread widely, criticism of ICE's use of excessive force grew nationwide. Outrage intensified further when Alex Fretti, who had tried to help a person knocked down by ICE agents during a separate incident in Minneapolis days later, was also shot and killed by an agent.

Following the shootings, Donald Trump replaced the border czar and the homeland security secretary. But with midterm elections approaching, the use of ICE for domestic security and law enforcement — including the possible invocation of insurrection laws — has resurfaced as a topic of discussion.